You Found Me
by GoldenHairedKiller
Summary: Bella is depressed and broken. She has no friends and no life. What will happen when a handsom Edward Cullen comes to Forks? Will he pull her out of her deep, dark cave? Rated T just in case. ALL HUMAN
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A monkey stole my shadow and sold it on eBay. Ha. I wish. My life is a whole lot worse. My name is Isabella Swan. I would say 'my friends call me Bella', but I don't have any. My life is pointless, tedious and worthless. Still want to keep reading? I have no idea why God put me here, I obviously belong on another planet. Some people at school call me emo, some call me plain out strange, others just call me a bitch. But if they found out the reason for my behaviour, they wouldn't point and stare.

I heard a knock on my door. Whoa, back to reality. Then I realised who it was. Oh great. Another sympathy speech from the world's best mother. My mom looks like me, but with blonde hair (I used to be blonde, but I hated it, so now it's black) and a bad tan. She knows pretty much everything about me, unfortunately, including that my weakness is hot chocolate, and this why she entered brandishing a mug.

"Hey honey," she said in a soothing mother-like voice. I gave her glare as she handed me the mug; I hated it when she called me gooey names, and she knew that. "How was school?" she asked with real curiosity in her voice.

"Well, in art I burnt some clay when I was bored, I put glue on Mr. Simon's pencil - " I snickered as I remembered the look on his face when he couldn't get it off his fingers - " and then at lunch I threw some of my mashed potato at Stanley." What a day it was.

"Oh. I see. Well, looks like you had a busy day then," she said mirroring my thoughts. My mom was used to my shenanigans at school now. A year ago she would have been in hysterics. "Try to not get suspended tomorrow, Cari. I've got work next week. I rather you did things I don't want to know about at school than at home." She shuddered. Probably at the thought of her getting home and the house is burnt down.

"Yeah, I'll try." Pfft, the chances of me _not_ getting suspended, at least for a day, is about as high as the chances of me wearing pink.

"Good night _sweetie_," as she tiptoed out of my dark room.

"What ever," I said, a little too late. As soon as she closed the door, I picked up my iPod, which needed updating, and turned on a song from _Bullet For My Valentine_. Ah, that's better. And soon enough, I drifted to sleep.

After I had not eaten breakfast the next morning, I drove to school in my old hand-me-down Toyota. I live in the small town of Forks. It's no bigger than your average one street town. My school, Forks High, has a startling total of 237 students. Not one of them normal. As I drive in, I see Stanley Peters sitting by his glossy convertible. He gives me an evil stare. I bet he had fun washing the potato out of his hair last night. Next to him is Lara Waterman, the 'Queen Bee', she calls herself. Head cheerleader, slut, skinny, blonde, you know the drill. Unfortunately, the only available spot is next to Stanley's car. Fantastic. I turn off the engine and get out, only to hear that sickly laugh.

"What's the matter Bella?" she asked as she eyed my bag. "Spend too much money on knives?" she laughed. I ignored her and went inside. I was not in the mood for arguing with Lara today. I walked into the main hall, where the lockers are, aware of the stares on my back. Hmm, more than usual. That's strange.

I got to my locker and saw a crude drawing of what is supposed to be me, and a bunch of knives sticking out of me. Oh. That's why. I wonder which idiot came up with that one. Yawn. And besides, I only use one at a time. The students in my school don't seem to understand that I've heard it all before. They are not the first ones to make that joke. The only one who doesn't make fun of me is Louie, my cat. And that's because he can't talk.

Not that I really care about them. They don't understand me. No one understands. If I had my way, they'd all be dead.

My first class is English, with Mrs. Simpson. She's a total ass, everyone hates her. She once gave me a detention because I said something "controversial". And more to the point, I have this class with Lara's sidekick and dumbass, Jessica. Lara's gang consists of 3 main bitches, and after them is the whole cheerleading squad, and the Lara "wannabes". The ones that crave to be as "cool" as her. Yuck. How they could be that stupid, I really don't know.

As I walked towards the classroom, there were more stares, but that doesn't bother me. Most are just glares, from people who I have done something to. They all deserved it of course. Like the dude who tried to hit on me, when I first came here, I beat him up. And the chick that I stole the purse from. Hey, there's that guy who I "accidentally" threw a soccer ball at. Well, he was pissing me off.

I walked into class only to see that it was empty. Sigh, first one here. How pathetic. I'll be getting called a nerd for the rest of the week. I flicked on the lights, and was startled by a boy that was sitting in my seat. Who is he? Is he new? Why was h sitting in the dark? Didn't he know where the light switch was? He noticed my look and smiled. Oh my god, the smile almost knocked me off my feet. He was gorgeous.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

His bronze hair was messy and tangled, but still looked like he had just come from shooting a hair gel commercial, and his grey t-shirt fit perfectly to the contours of his chest. His flawless face was confused. Obviously he had no idea what kind of effect he had on people.

"Hello, my name is Edward Cullen. I'm new." He says in a gooey honey voice that makes my heart beat even more.

"Uhh… Hi…" I stammered.

"Are you okay? You seem a little flushed." Flushed? I wish! I could feel the burn in my face. I must look like a tomato.

"I'm fine," I lied casually.

"What's your name?" he asked with that brilliant smile.

"I'm Bella. You might have heard from the teachers about me. And not in a good way."

"No, no one mentioned you. I'm glad, though. I got to meet you myself." He flashed a uneven smile that made my heart splutter. Why aren't I acting the way I usually do? With anyone else I would have told to them to piss off ages ago. He was… different.

The classroom was getting filled now. I hadn't even noticed… Then I suddenly remembered he was sitting in my seat.

"Uh, that's my seat you're sitting in."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." He moved to the back row. For some reason my heart screamed 'No, don't go!'

The teacher started saying something, but I honestly had no idea what she was talking about. I start doodling in my notebook. I didn't even know what in particular I was drawing. My brain wasn't working properly. I checked the clock. Holy cow! An hour had passed already. That was quick. Suddenly Mrs. Simpson stands up.

"By the way, we have a new student in our class, Edward Cullen. He's from California." People all around turned to the back to look at the newcomer. Of course, I'd already met him, but I still looked. Anything to see that gorgeous face of his. Whoa, where did that come from? There were gasps from the girls, and jealous looks from the guys. Jessica looked at him and batted her eyelids at him. He hardly noticed her. He was looking at me the whole time, laughing that gorgeous laugh. I laughed as well. It had been a long time since I'd done that. It sounded strange coming out of me.

After class, Jessica grabbed my arm.

"I saw you looking at the new kid. He's mine. Got it?" She had a look that could turn jelly to stone, it was that deathly.

"Whatever Jessica. I'm sure Lara would say otherwise."

"Shut up! Lara doesn't even know he exists yet. Besides, she's got Stanley."

"Not for much longer. We both know that Lara being the slut that Lara is, she'll pounce on him right away." It's true, I may not have been here very long, but all head sluts are the same. Any hot guy that walks in the school gates, Lara assumes that he's her's. And so does everyone else.

"That's not even the point! What I meant to say was, don't even think about it, because someone like him could not possibly want someone like you," She spat, and walked off. I knew the words weren't true, but they still hurt. The regular me would have laughed. But the new found me that was deep inside me was a bit discouraged. Funny how an hour can change your whole life.

Next class, Gym. Great. With luck I won't break a bone this time. I'm so uncoordinated, I can't handle a racket without hitting myself in the head. Or worse, someone else. Seriously, I sent a kid to the ER because my arms and legs won't do what my brain wants them to do. Worst thing was, we had to wear short sleeve tops. Everyone could see the scars on my arms from dark moments. That's where all the knife jokes came from. Although, they're dead right.

Oh no. Not good. As I walk out of the change rooms, he was there. Shooting a basket in from the free throw line. Again, he was the first there.

"Nice shot," I commented. He turned and saw me, and smiled.

"Hi, didn't see you there." Then he noticed my arms and gasped. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, uh, nothing…" I muttered.

"Doesn't look like nothing. Oh, I think I know. I see. It makes sense now." He saw the look on my face and explained. "I was talking with a boy in English, Jimmy, and he said something about that."

"Yeah, Jimmy would. He's one of those stacks of people who hate me."

"How could anyone hate you? I find you very interesting." Wow, didn't see that one coming.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long time." I mean, apart from my mom. No, not even her.

"Really? Hmm…" Just then the door to the change room opens. Lara was standing there in the usual uniform for her. Very short tight top, like practically up to her pierced belly button, and short shorts. Crap. I forgot that I have Gym with her…

"Oh look it's Miss Scar." Then she noticed my friend. She stared wide-eyed at him, and for three seconds was lost for words. I don't blame her. However, then she looked at me. Gulp. Suddenly her expression turned into an smile.

"Hi! I'm Lara Waterman. Head cheerleader, and Student body president." The only way she won that one was because she rigged it. No one even voted for her. She battered her eyelids at him. He smiled a brief smile and said,

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Edward." He turned to the hoop and shot another goal. Lara fumed. Ha, rejected! But she did not give up.

"I'd be happy to show you around, if you need any help. I know this place back to front." He nodded in her direction. "You know, you could sit with my group at lunch."

"I'll be fine. I've got someone to sit with already. I mean, if she lets me." He winked at me. Gulp. Did he mean me? Lara was furious. I swear I could see steam coming out of her ears.

"You mean her? Scar girl? Are you serious? You do know she's emo right? You do know she sits in her room every night listening to screamo while she cuts her self? I know you're new, but how can you be so clueless?!" Well, she pretty much got it right, but I don't do that every night. There was other students gathering round now. Apparently we'd attracted some attention. How could you miss Lara's screaming?

"I'm sure it's not that bad. And if it is, well, I'll try to change that won't I?" Shock betrayed my face as well as Lara's. Could he be serious? Did he actually want to hang out with me? After I'd only met him last period? Me? The Scream Queen?

The answer was clear in his smiling face as Lara stomped away. Yes, he did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ow! Another basketball to the head. I think that one was on purpose. Grr. Meanwhile, Edward is scoring basket after basket. Stupid basketball playing good-at-everything-sex-god that I can't stop staring at. Although, I'm not the only one who can't keep my eyes off him. Every girl in the room was staring wide eyed. One more period till lunch. The thought of lunch, and the fact that he was going to sit next to me (apparently) made my stomach lurch. But not in a bad way. That was the most worrying part. Oh no. He's coming over to me. Quick! Think of something to say before I forget.

"How's your head?" Oh. He saw that. Dang.

"Painful. Did you play basketball at your old school?" I said, changing the subject.

"Not really. All the teachers said I should have joined the team, but basketball holds no interest for me. I much prefer to read or listen to music." Wow. Something we had in common. Although I'm sure his version of music is very different to mine.

"Oh. That's unusual."

"How so?" Clearly he had never seen a movie about high school life.

"It's just that most boys that go here would kill to have that kind of talent. And I think some the boys here are illiterate too." He laughed. The sound was heavenly.

"I think we better get to class." I looked around the gym. Again, I hadn't even noticed that it was empty. It was so easy to get caught in our own little bubble without any distractions.

"Yeah, probably. Though it's healthy to ditch every now and then. What class do you have next?"

"Uh, Health, in the Upstairs Gym. It's going to be interesting.," He said with heavy sarcasm.

"I have Biology. Holds no interest for me. Especially when they do dissections. It makes me sad when I have to do them." I know. I'm an emo but also an animal lover. It's sad, even.

"Huh. I never thought of you to be an animal lover," he said, mirroring my thoughts. "That's good though. They don't deserve it."

"Mmm. I got a detention once for refusing to do a dissection." In my freshmen year, stupid Biology teacher said we had to do it.

"Oh, that sucks." Back to the subject?

"Anyway, maybe we could ditch together? It's not like they're going to miss me. I complain the whole class." Again, he laughed. It was like drugs. I could never get enough of it. In fact, it was better than any drug I've ever heard of. And I have done some pot in my time.

"Good idea. Cafeteria?"

The walk to the Cafeteria was almost painful. I couldn't bear to look at him, afraid that he might think I was into him. I mean, I was, but I didn't want him to know that. But I couldn't not look at him either, because he was so gorgeous.

When we were sitting at a table he started to say something, but then something caught his eye. I turned to see what it was. Across the empty cafeteria, Sophia, 3rd in command of the bimbos, Lara's gang, was talking on her cell phone. She was ditching too. Great. She saw us and closed her cell. She gave me a dirty look and Edward an angelic smile.

"Who's she?" Edward asked.

"Ugh. That's Sophia. She's with Lara."

"Ah. I take it she's a Lara copycat?"

"Not quite as bitchy, but yes." Thank god she walked away. I don't think I would have been able to stand it if she talked to him. _Stop it Bella. He's not your property. Don't get complacent. Just because he seems to prefer you to every girl on campus does not make him-_

"So. Tell me more about you. Seems I don't know enough." He said, interrupting my unspoken rambling.

"Uh…" This is what I'd been afraid of him asking. How to tell him that my life is worthless? "Well, to start with, I like screamo?"

"I gathered." He chuckled. "What else? Tell me about your family?"

"Well, my mom, Renee, used to be worried about me. Now she's used to the routine."

"Routine?" Sigh. Maybe I said too much. Like usual.

"Well, I wake up, skip breakfast, drive to school, ignore people's taunts, then classes, lunch, which concerns me sitting by myself. Then more classes, drive home, going straight into my room, turning up _Bullet For My Valentine_ so loud it hurts my ears, then dinner, then feed Louie, then back into my room, on MySpace for an hour, then I cry myself to sleep." He seemed to frown when I mentioned the last part.

"Hmm. That's not a very good routine. You could damage your hearing with all that screamo." I tried to lift the mood a little.

"What?" I said, pretending to be deaf. It worked, he laughed.

"But seriously, you shouldn't live your life like that. People should be happy. They should live life everyday like it's their last. Do you really think you would live your last day cutting yourself and ruining your ears?" I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. He was absolutely right. I had just been waiting for someone to say it. The reason for my behaviour was not as bad as it seem, when you think about it. Why had I convinced myself that my life is meaningless? "You ok?" he asked, breaking my epiphany.

"I'm fine. You just gave me something to think about." I would think about it. A lot.

"Oh. I'm glad. Now back to your family."

"Ah. Well, my mother is kindergarten teacher and part time librarian, and I have one sister, who's nine and annoying, and my father's dead." I never have trouble admitting that. I never really knew him.

"I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay. He died when I was 2. I never really got to know him. He never was a big part of my life anyways. He died in a car crash. My mother was in it too, but she survived, obviously. So yeah, that's it. Oh and my cat Louie is part of the family too." I giggled. Louie _was_ the only one who could make me laugh. Him and his shenanigans. It was different now. He chuckled with me.

"Hmmm, all the people I've met say you only smile when you hurt someone. But You're laughing like crazy," he noticed.

"Yeah, I usually don't laugh this much at all. It sounds strange even to me." But his mind was somewhere.

"What's for lunch?" Food. I hadn't thought about it. As an answer my stomach growled. He snickered.

"I'm not sure. Usually I just have a soda and pasta or something. Sometimes less."

"Ooh, pizza. My favourite. Ham and pineapple. Yum."

"Margarita for me. Vegetarian." He seemed surprised. I don't blame him. The vegetarian emo. Now he must really think I'm weird.

"I'll go get lunch." I started to stand to get mine, but he pushed me down again. His movement sent my heart in a flutter. "No, no. My treat." Then he flashed the smile that I had already seen twice, but it still turned my stomach. I'm pretty sure I let out a little gasp as he walked to get food. Giggles erupted from another table. A group of senior girls laughed teasingly at me. Had it really been a whole period?

"Emo girl is speechless for once! Fancy that!" One laughed. Grr. I looked around

the now crowded lunch room. Many pairs of curious eyes met my gaze. They had been watching me the whole time. I really didn't care, but it was annoying just the same. I didn't even notice them come in. Like everyone else in the café.

"Bella! Mountain Dew?" Edward shouted from the counter. A few freshmen looked at me in confusion. As if to say 'her?'. Then I remembered the question he had been asking me.

"Yes, please!" I smiled. He smiled back. Even from long distance it still knocked the wind out of me. A minute later he was back with our trays.

"Here we go. Margarita pizza, vege pasta, potato salad, a jumbo cookie and Mountain Dew." I stared at him open mouthed.

"Do really expect me to be able to eat all of this? I'll be sick!"

"You need to eat more. You can see your ribs." Ridiculous. I was plenty plump. I just don't get hungry.

"If I'm sick, I'm holding you personally responsible." I said as I took a bite of the pizza. It was hot. I took a swig of the soda to put the fire out.

"Tell me about your family. Seems I don't know enough." I quoted him. He smiled his perfect smile. Again.

"Well, my father is a doctor, and my mother is a lawyer. My older brother is a journalist and my older sister is a professional dancer." He just keeps shocking me even more.

"You have a talented family. Now I know where you get it from. No pets?"

"No, my mother's allergic to most animal hair."

"Oh. That would suck. I don't know if I could cope without an at least one animal in the house. I would die!" he smiled.

"How's the pizza?" Changing the subject.

"Hot. Too hot." I fanned my mouth to make my point. He chuckled. He seemed to do a lot of that. Totally different to me. At least, it used to be.

"What's your favourite food?" he asked out of the blue.

"Umm, probably chocolate, closely followed by vegetarian souvlaki."

"Favourite book?"

"Twilight. Without a doubt."

"What about movie?"

"Uhh… Moulin Rouge – what's with the questions?"

"Just trying to get to know you better. If I'm planning to hang around you, then I need to know some more about you."

"Oh." He continued to rattle off random questions. Everything from my favourite flowers to places I'd been and wanted to go. I'd never talked so much in my life. The whole lunch was spent with me talking about the most random things. But he never got bored. It was like every question was vitally important. Eventually though, lunch ended.

"Well, off to French." I said with mock enthusiasm.

"Mmm. Trig for me"

"Good luck with Mr. Welsh. He's a bit of a tool. He'll probably make you stand up at the front and introduce yourself. That's what he did with me."

"Thanks for the tip. Well, I don't think I have any more classes with you, so see you tomorrow." He smiled.

"Yeah. I guess so. See ya." I waved goodbye as I headed to French.

Madam Machand was not the worst teacher in the world, but she called on everyone at least once during the class. No one was safe. And I seldom knew the answers. We have arranged seating for this class, but that's okay because I sit next a girl named Lucy, who is shy and doesn't talk much.

I walk in and class has already started. Oops.

"Thank you for joining us Miss. Swan. Next time maybe you should wear a watch." She pointed to the clock. Come on! I was only 3 minutes late. I took my seat and started talking notes. My partner was doing the same.

About half way through the lesson, we had to do a group task with our desk mate. It was pretty simple. Lucy was really good at French, so there's no problem with group tasks.

"Hey, uh, Bella?" To my amazement, Lucy said this to me. Wow. So much can change in one day. Although, she may only be asking for an answer.

"Yes, Lucy?"

"I just want you to know that I think you should give Lara a run for her money."

"Huh?"

"With the Edward kid. I mean, we both know that Lara would have him in a minute if you hadn't met him first. I think you should take the chance and go for him." What was she on about? Oh god. She thinks I like him.

"Umm, do you mean to say that you think I like him and that I should get together with him?"

"Yeah! Lara's been running the school for ages and really think someone should put her in her place and - "

"Wait, wait, wait. I don't like him. Not in that way anyway. Besides, I only met him this morning. And even if I did like him, he wouldn't like me back. I mean, who would like me? Dude, I'm 'the' scar girl."

"I think your losing your emoness. You would have told me to get back to work long ago if you were your usual self. And you sat with him today. And you haven't gotten into any trouble today. Now what does that tell you?" My god. She was right. In a single day, and by meeting one person, my life had taken a turn. But why was this? I had no idea.

"I think we should get to work. Madam is looking at us." Anything to shut her up. I spent the rest of the lesson thinking about what she and Edward had said about my lifestyle.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept tossing and turning and thinking about today. Oh, yesterday, I mean. It's 2:30 in the morning. Louie had retreated to the corner, instead of my bed, because I can't keep still. I just don't get it. Why had I convinced myself that my life is pointless? My life did have meaning. Until…

I was in my freshman year, and I was in heaven. I was pretty, I had lots of friends, and I had my gorgeous boyfriend, Seth. He was perfect. Although, now that I think about, he looks like a toad compared to Edward. At the time, he was the reason for my existence. Then, that one day, when everything was perfect, suddenly turned into my worst nightmare. Seth usually walked me to my classes, and he did, but when he walked me to my last class, his expression was strange. Like there was something he didn't want to do. I went into class and he kissed me goodbye, but the kiss wasn't as sweet as it usually was. It was like it was the last. And then I knew that something bad was going to happen. I had my suspicions, and in the end, I was right. After school he was waiting for me. I think he knew I knew, and that made it even harder. I remember every word he said:

Umm, Bella, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I don't think our relationship has the same spark that it used to. I think now's the time to go our separate ways.

I struggled and struggled to try to get him to change his mind, but it was unnecessary. My efforts were wasted. There was no way it was ever going to work again. I got driven home by one of my older friends, because I didn't want my mom to see me like this. When I got home I was in hysterics. For the next few weeks I was dead. I hardly ate, I didn't speak much, only when I was asked to. The reason for my existence was gone. Therefore, when I changed schools, my existence left me.

Then it hit me. The reason I convinced myself that my life means nothing, is because I thought he was the one. He wasn't, so I told myself that there is no one for me. There is no existence for me. That's it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When I was driving to school, I couldn't help but think what he was thinking. What CD was he listening to? If any? Was he thinking about me? No, of course he's not. He has more important things to think about. Why would he think about little old Scar Girl?

As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw him. He was leaning against his car, which was a silver Mercedes. Rich and beautiful. That's a little unfair. Oh, there's a space next to him. Excellent. I pulled in and he smiled.

"Nice car," he says as I hop out.

"Thanks so much. How was your night?"

"Slow. I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I."

"All the that screamo keeping you up?" he teased.

"No, actually. I didn't listen to it last night. Neither did I give myself a new scar."

"Oh. Well, it seems me hanging around is taking effect," he said with real triumph in his voice. I checked my watch. Ugh, time for class. "Better to get to class huh?" How did he do that?

"Yeah. English. Fantastic." Oh well, at least it will be with him. _Stop it Bella! He's a friend, and nothing more._ As we walked to class together, people stare with wide eyes. Not the normal evil, hateful glares, but the kind that makes you feel extremely self conscious. He seemed completely at ease though. I saw Lara with nostrils flaring and her hands clenched into fists. I winked at her. That just made her angrier. I laughed at her face.

"Why are you laughing?" Edward asked, but his face had amusement in it too.

"At Lara. I think she's fairly angry that I'm friends with you. Ha." I laughed again. This time he laughed with me. We have reached the classroom by now, and this would be the first time I've walked in smiling. We took our seats in the back. There was no way I'm sitting away from him now. Not by choice anyway.

"What are you thinking?" he asked as some kids came into the room with shocked expressions.

"Just that I hope that Mrs. Simpson doesn't move me. I'd rather have someone to talk to."

"Yeah. I didn't think I'd make… friends… quite this easily here."

"Yeah, I can't imagine you fitting in with all the jocks and them."

"Mmm, I'd fit in real well. My brother always said I'd be a nerd."

"I don't think you're a nerd. For a start, nerds are ugly sad saps with glasses and braces. And acne. And they have no friends." I tried to picture him like that and cringed at the thought. But he chuckled.

"I suppose your right. I suppose I'm doing a little better than a nerd." He laughed.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

"Where did you last go to school? And why did you move?"

"That's easy. I went to a high school in California. I didn't like it, and neither did my parents, so we moved here. My siblings stayed in California, but they have their own apartments."

"Oh. That sounds reasonable."

"May I ask the reason behind your curiosity?" he said in a whisper now, because class had started. But we weren't the only ones talking.

"Oh, I was just wondering, because I still can't find a reason why anyone would come to a dump like Forks on their own free will." A small town in Washington compare to the sunshine of California.

"Small town life is better than big city life. For a start, there's less traffic in a small town." He laughed. Possibly at some funny memory concerning traffic.

"Huh." This might be a big mistake, but I trust him for some reason. He had a right to know. He was part of the reason I figured it out. "Hey, something occurred to me last night. But it's kind of a long story, and some of it has to do with why I act the way I do."

"Tell me at lunch. Simpson's going to give us detentions." Lunch then. That gives me two more periods to think about it. Good.

English past slowly. But not in a bad way. How could be bad when I have the most gorgeous guy on the planet sitting next to me? Heaps of evil glares came from the girls when they thought the teacher wasn't looking, but it made me feel good. I was the only girl that Edward had the slightest bit of interest in, and they wish it was them. _But, even though he talks to you and sits with you, don't get attached. He only interested as a friend. Don't make it hard on yourself by giving yourself false hope._

In Gym, we had moved onto Indoor Soccer. Oh good. Another sport I suck at. Of course Edward didn't. In his 3 games he played he scored at least two points in each. Show off.

After Gym, I said my goodbyes, called him a show off once more and walked to Biology alone. Just then a guy came up to me.

"Hi. I'm Mike." Another newbie? Or I had never been paying attention.

"Nice to meet you, Mike. I'm - " he cut me off.

"Bella. Yeah I know. Everyone knows who you are. More than ever now." Did he have trace of annoyance in his face?

"Oh? Why?" Even though I knew already, I decided to play dumb.

"Because your hanging out with the new kid. It's strange that he would hang out with the girl who has no friends. Hmm." I looked away. Stupid kid. Why wouldn't he go away?

"Umm, do you want something?"

"Uhh, I just wanted to introduce myself. Since you sit alone everyday, and now you don't, so I figure that maybe you aren't so bad. So, umm, yeah."

"Well, I've got class now. Bye." I darted quickly into the classroom. Okay. That was strange. 2 days ago I was sitting by myself, getting taunted and teased, just like normal. But now suddenly everyone's talking to me.

I sat at my lab table. A girl with dark brown hair approached me. I pretended not to notice.

"Bella is it?" She had heaps of make up on, and her hair was pulled into a messy half-half pony tail.

"That's me. Can I help you?" More unwanted attention?

"Hi, I'm Angela. I noticed that you're hanging out with Edward Cullen, the new boy. I just want you to know that I think it's great that your finally making some friends around here."

"Gee, thanks.," I said sarcastically.

"I mean, now that your hanging out with him, you're really getting happier. You should see the change in you. Everyone is shocked that your smiling and laughing now. Of course every girl dreams of what you have with him, of course. Your really lucky." Wow. Luck never turns my way. "Anyway. Just keep this friendship because everyone would be happier when you're happy. Except for Lara of course." She laughed and sat back in her seat. Right on cue, Mr. Thomas walks in and starts the lesson.

The whole class, I thought about what Angela had said. I was getting happier. That was something I hadn't planned. Why couldn't I figure it out?

Before I knew it, class was over. Crap. Time to tell Edward my discovery. The thing that I had been denying to myself for years. My stomach turned.

He was waiting for outside, of course. With a strange look on his face. Like he'd witnessed an execution.

"Hey. What's up?" I was actually concerned for what he had seen. Or heard. Or whatever.

"Ugh. Health is the worst class I have ever been too. The whole time they talked about sexual health." He shuddered. I laughed. Everyone had been through a Sex Ed class somewhere along the line. All the girls cringed, and the guys laughed their heads off.

"I had to take that last year. It was hell." As we were walking to the cafeteria, Angela walked by and gave me a smile. Well, that was nice.

We sat at our table, which was actually a booth, and he reminded about my epiphany without words. My stomach growled. He snickered.

"Right. Food first, then story." He got up to get our lunch. Ugh, I don't think I could eat now, I feel sick. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell him. Would it make him angry? Or sad?

A few minutes later he came back with our food. I tried to give him a 5 dollar note to make up for my food, but he shoved it back. I frowned. It wasn't good for him to spend money one me. I don't deserve it. Then I noticed there was as much food as there was yesterday. I rolled my eyes at him. There was the crooked smile that I loved so much. Grr.

"Now. Your epiphany?" He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Ok, my epiphany. So, I was thinking last night when I was attempting to sleep, 2 things. Why I act the way I do. I mean, I always knew, but why I convinced myself that my life is worthless. And why I suddenly am getting happier. So…" I told my story. Most of the time I looked down at my food, and only a few times I looked up to see his expression. There was confusion in there, but most of the time it was calm and collected. Then I got onto the part about my epiphany. He frowned whenever I said meaningless, but when I finished, he smiled.

"Well, I'm glad that you've figured it out. And I'm sorry about the first part."

"No, it's okay. I'm getting happier, so I must be getting over it."

"Oh good. Now eat your pasta, before it goes cold." His tone was father like. It was hilarious.

"Yes sir!" I said with a salute. He laughed for the millionth time today. It was so easy to be around him. I would never talk to anyone else like this. Not even Seth.

"You know, even though I've known you for 2 days, it seems like I've known my whole life."

"Okay, will you stop reading my mind? It's kinda getting freaky." He smiled, again.

"If only I could read your mind. No, it's just that we're thinking the same things," he amended. I slurped my soda. I was about to take a bite of my apple, to show I was eating healthily, but instead I burped. Oops. I put my hand over my mouth, embarrassed, but to my surprise, he burst into a roar of laughter. I found myself laughing with him.

"Oops. Haven't you noticed I always ruin the moment?" He laughed some more. A few more stares came my way, but I didn't care. I was being myself. The happy self that was down deep inside me waiting to be uncovered.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. It was more boring than ever without him. In French Lucy said nothing. Probably scared by my little outburst yesterday. But she was silent and smiling. So maybe it wasn't as scary as I'd thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

That night was the first night I dreamt of Edward Cullen. The dream was set in the Cafeteria. He was laughing. Then suddenly the Café disappeared, and we were in my bedroom. He was sitting on my bed and smiling. I don't know what I was doing, but it seemed to amuse him. Then the dream ended. I opened my eyes sleepily. Still too early. Well, early for me. Maybe I should have breakfast.

No one was up yet, but I went downstairs anyway, and dug out a bowl, a spoon, a box of some cereal, and milk. I ate it slowly, since there was ages till school. While I chewed, I thought of why I was eating breakfast. This wasn't me. But then again, neither was laughing, sitting with someone, talking and eating in general. It's so confusing! When I finished my cereal, I washed the bowl and spoon, and headed back to my room to change. My mother was up now, and she was heading into the bathroom. She stopped dead in the hallway.

"Bella! You're up!" She had the most bewildered look on her face, as if she was in a dream.

"Yes. I am. I just ate breakfast." She looked at me again, and turned and muttered something that sounded like 'pinch me' but I couldn't be sure.

I changed into my black skinny jeans and _Happy Tree Friends_ t-shirt (one of my favourites) and started to pack my bag. There was still so much time left. I decided to pack a book, because I was going to be bored in Gym. We were doing Volleyball today, and I had no intention in participating. Then I unpacked it, because I was going to be watching Edward the whole time anyway.

I headed downstairs again, bag on back. It was still 8 o'clock. School starts at half past. And it takes me 10 minutes to drive. Ugh. Nothing to do. I let my mind wander to what he was doing. Having breakfast, or getting dressed. _Ok! Friends don't think of friends that way!_ Oh, shut up brain.

Eventually it was an acceptable time to drive to school. I was half way there, and I saw that Stanley Peters and Lara were in front of me. In that stupid red convertible. Maybe I should hit them lightly in the back. It wouldn't hurt the car, just that fancy, glossy paint job. Ha. He saw me in the rear view mirror, and I think he told Lara. She looked back, and scowled at me. I waved at her, like we were best friends. That really made her angry.

We got to school, me and my enemy, and I pulled next to Edward. They both went in the spot the furthest away from me. Phew! Glad to get them off my back.

Again, he was waiting for me. He smiled as I got out of my Toyota. I smiled back. Everything was so simple with him. All my problems drifted away. I had never had a friend like this before.

"Hey. How are you this morning?" He was so polite. 1 out of 20 male teenagers have the slightest bit of manners.

"Surprisingly, not hungry. I had breakfast this morning." I was proud of myself. But why?

"Oh good. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You'll do well in English today." I think he was proud of me as well, but I couldn't know for sure.

"Speaking of English," I prompted.

"Yes. We should get to class huh?" Normally, I would say 'what's your hurry?' and ditch for a few minutes, but now I had an urge to get to class on time.

We walked to class talking about the dance, which was in 2 and a half weeks. Then we got on to the awkward topic of who we were going to ask, or who we think we were going to be asked by, in my case. Both of us didn't want to continue that conversation. When we walked in, the only person in the room was Mike. Oh, great. He was that boy who had come up to me yesterday. He smiled as we walked in, then his smile dropped as he saw Edward. We went to sit down, in the back, like yesterday. Then he came up to me.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" he sounded like he was asking permission.

"Um, sure. Fire away."

"Uh, alone?" He looked at Edward as he said this. Edward was flipping through a book, although I could tell he was listening.

"Uh, ok," I stammered as I stood up. Mike proceeded to just outside the classroom. Where Edward couldn't see us, I soon realised.

"Uh, so I was wondering. You know the dance that's coming up?" This could not be happening. Was he seriously? "Well, I was thinking that I could go with you…?" It turned into a question at the end. He asked me to the dance. Someone asked me. But I didn't want to go with him. My thoughts were elsewhere…

"Ummm, thank you for asking me but - " he cut me off mid-sentence.

"Oh, your kidding me! Are you going with Edward?" He looked annoyed, like Edward had stolen something from him.

"No! No, I'm not. It's just that I'm not going to the dance." It was an excuse, but it was a good one. Dancing, high heels and dresses were not my cup of tea.

"Why not?" He honestly looked confused.

"You've obviously never seen me in Gym. On Monday I managed to hit myself in the head with a basketball 3 times." While Edward shot basket after basket.

"Oh. So that's a no?" I nodded. Disappointment crossed his face. "Ok. Whatever." He went back to his seat. I felt immensely guilty. I slowly recomposed myself and went back to sit next to Edward.

"What was that about?" Oh, there was no point in lying to him. He was going to figure it out anyway. Or hear the rumours that were going to be around the school by lunch time.

"Um, he asked me to the spring dance." I tried to keep my head down. I couldn't bear to look into his smouldering eyes. But to my absolute surprise, he laughed.

"And what did you say?" He was still snickering.

"I said no, of course. I had to come up with an excuse not to hurt his feelings, and now I feel really guilty, because I hurt them anyway. I'm a monster." I shook my head in disappointment at myself.

"No, you're not." I looked up and he was staring back at me, with the marvellous hazel eyes of his. It was only the sound of other students coming in the classroom that made him break the gaze. I flushed, and looked down again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smile. Pleased with himself, no doubt. But I suppose it wasn't his fault that he was so damn irresistible.

As class started, I felt a note land on my desk. It was from the table in front of me.

**Are you going out with Edward?**

**- Tyler**

Sigh. I was going to have get used to this I suppose. I wrote back saying:

No. I am not. We are just friends. For heaven's sake it's been less than a week!

I threw it to Tyler's table. He read it and turned around. He gave me a 'yeah right' look.

"Mr. Crowley! Stop staring at Bella and pay attention!" Some kids giggled. Tyler immediately turned around and shook off the laughter. Great. I'm a living joke. Then I noticed Edward was laughing too. I gave him a 'stop it or you're dead' look. He returned a innocent look. The lesson continued and I continued to take notes.

Gym was just as I expected. My team was off, so we didn't get to play, but Edward's team won every game. Not a surprise to anyone. Why did he have to be good at everything? Finally, his team came off and he sat next to me.

"Show off." He laughed his sweet laugh.

"I used to do volleyball at my old school. It was compulsory." He still had amusement in his face.

"Sure, sure. Hey, it's too nice a day to be stuck in here. Let's ask Coach if he'll let us walk around."

"Okay. I don't think my team has any more games." To my surprise, he said yes, and we walked out of the stuffy gym.

"Ah. That's better," I sighed.

"Nothing like springtime air." He breathed a deep breath. "Hey, would you say we're best friends?" This question was easy.

"Yes, I think so. It's like you're my long lost brother." We laughed.

"Yes, it's a bit like that isn't it? Who would have known that the emo girl and the sport geek would be friends?" he chuckled. I'd have to disagree with him. Sport geek wasn't a good description. Try perfect, smart, athletic, gorgeous, rich… Although I didn't care about the money part.

We sat on a bench outside the office. I took out my iPod, and scanned through my music. I came across a song that I never listen to, _You Found Me_ by The Fray. I thought to myself: _that's like, our song. Weird._ I put it in my ears. He reached for one of the earphones and briefly brushed my cheek by accident. It sent my heart in a flurry. He started singing along with it. He knew every word. Grr.

"You, know, this is kind of how our friendship is. Have you noticed?"

"That's why I put it on. You should really stop reading my mind. You might hear something that you don't like." Like my attraction to him. Even if he didn't have it back…

"I doubt it. I would really like to know everything you're thinking." His voice had sincerity in it.

The song ended, and I checked my watch. The next class was 4 minutes in. But I didn't want to go to class this time. I'd rather stay here. If I could, I would freeze this moment and live it forever. But he noticed.

"We're late for class." He gave me back the headphone.

"I don't want to go to class." He gave me a disapproving look.

"We've already skipped once this week, don't you think someone will notice?"

"I don't care. Class is boring. Besides, you're not in my next class." Had I said too much? Have I given myself away?

"True. I'd like school better if you were in my every class." Wow. I didn't expect that. Maybe I wasn't giving myself false hope. "But I don't want to spoil it."

"Spoil what?" He leaned closer. I stopped breathing.

"Your journey to normalness." He breathed. Oh my god, he smelled so good. But I resisted the urge to lean in, because that would make him mad. I have quite good self control.

"Whoa! Check this out!" Crap. Tyler Crowley had discovered us. "Yeah, I never knew you could lie while passing notes. 'Just friends'. Ha!" I jerked back and blushed. Edward seemed at ease while Tyler was going on. "Dude! You've got to ask her to the dance. It will be the talk of the school! Speaking of which, I'm sure the school would love to hear the news!"

"Don't you dare!" I yelled, too late. He was already around the corner, telling someone. I hung my head. This is just great. This was not a rumour I could deal with. Cutting myself and screamo I could deal with, but… relationships are not my cup of tea. Edward noticed my expression.

"Ignore him. As long as we know it's not true, it'll be alright."

"That makes sense. But now I really don't want to got to class." Knowing the words that people were going to hurl at me.

"But I'm forcing you. Now go to class you little rascal." He briefly touched my nose, but not briefly enough that my heart didn't go berserk. "See you at lunch." He winked at me and walked off to his next class. Which was now 10 minutes in.

Biology was normal, but we did blood tests. It was normal to see my own blood, but now I didn't want to shed it. I did get some taunts and teases about the blood thing, but most were about Edward. And they weren't even teases. It was 'Are you going out with the new boy?' and 'did you kiss Edward Cullen?' and 'you slut! You don't deserve Edward!' and many more. Was this ever going to end? Although there was an encouraging one. 'Go for him!', I couldn't work out who it was from, but the room went silent when he or she said it. I had my suspicions about Angela, who was smiling, but other than that I had no idea who the mysterious person was. Finally, class was over. Just as I was about to leave the classroom, a guy blocked my way. I recognized him as Ben, who was my partner for a English project last year.

"Um, hi Ben. Would you like something?" Please don't ask me the forbidden question.

"You remember me! Cool. I was just wondering, now that your past all that emo crap, would you like to go to the spring dance with me?" I was annoyed now. The next person who asks me will have his lights knocked out of him.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not going."

"Yeah, Mike said that."

"Then why'd you ask me?" I was really getting frustrated now. Why wouldn't he just let me go to lunch?

"I was hoping you were letting him down easy." My stomach growled unhappily.

"I'm not going to be there, honestly. Now will you please let me eat?" Another rumble from my stomach made my point clear. He got out of my way, and I stormed down the hallway. More comments about me and Edward were thrown at me along the way. I walked into the Cafeteria, and it was packed. I couldn't see him anywhere. Then I saw him, yelling at someone. He was standing next to a table, pointing his finger at who ever it was he was yelling at. I walked closer to the table, to see who it was. It was Mike, and his group. Then I heard what he was saying.

"Stay the hell away from her! Do you really think she would go out with an idiot like you? And don't you ever talk about her like that again, or I swear I will break your jaw." His face was angry, and he'd never looked more scary. Or more beautiful.

"I didn't say anything!" Mike's face was petrified.

"The hell you didn't!"

"You have no right to protect her. And I'm sure she can take care of herself!" This was too much. I had to intervene!

"What's going on here?" They both looked at me, and some people were watching now.

"Nothing Bella. Nothing at all." Edward said in a now calm tone, as he always used with me.

"Sure, nothing. Didn't sound like nothing across the room." I was good at this. "Now both of you calm down. And you, sit." I pointed at Edward and looked behind me. The spectators all went back to their lunch. I pulled him to a booth and sat him down.

"Now what was that all about?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my cool. He was bragging to his friends that he asked you out, and then he said, well discriminating things." He frowned angrily.

"What things?" Not that I really wanted to know.

"I think it's extremely rude, but if you want to know. He said that you remind him of a western prostitute, except you cut yourself."

"Oh. I shouldn't have asked… Food will calm you down." He started to get up, but I wasn't having that today. I pushed him back down, took out my purse and walked to the counter. Out of the blue, a guy whistled at me. Okay, I wasn't used to this. Why all this attention? It's not like I suddenly look attractive to them just because I have a friend? Weird. I looked back at Edward and he still looked agitated. I know the perfect thing. Ice-cream! When I bought our food, I sat back at the table, and there is people sitting there. This day is getting stranger and stranger. I noticed Angela, Lucy and Jimmy all sitting at the table with Edward. I set the trays down and are met by their gazes. But in relief I realize they are smiling.

"Hey, Bella," Angela beamed.

"Um, hi. People sitting with me? That's strange."

"Isn't it just?" Jimmy agreed. "We thought that our own table is boring, so we came to give you some company. I mean, now that your not emo anymore."

"Oh? How do you figure that?" I was interested to know how they classified me now.

"Well," Lucy started, "You smile, you laugh, you haven't had your iPod in class for days, you wear less black, you ignore taunts, and you have a friend."

"Oh. That makes sense. I ignore taunts?"

"Yeah, you used to have a comeback for every one," Angela stated.

"Huh." I noticed Edward hadn't said a word. Or eaten anything. "Hey," I nudged him. "Eat up. Your ice-cream's melting."

"Sorry, I'm still annoyed about before."

"Yeah, we saw that. Or more heard it. Way to kick Newton's ass!" Angela remarked.

"Mmm, thanks."

"Well, thank you for sticking up for me. Even though I didn't need it."

"Yeah, I know. But he's really getting on my nerves. Speaking of which…" he looked into a different direction. I looked the same way only to see the Bimbos walking past. And noticed Lara, who was without her main accessory, Stanley. She must be really desperate to get Edward. She noticed or table and stopped. Jessica and Sophia bashed against each other at the sudden stop. The whole Café giggled. Lara was still staring at us. And we were staring back.

"What the hell is happening to this place? People sitting at Scar Girl's table?"

"Haven't you heard? She's normal now," Jimmy defended. That had some effect on Lara. He was one of the main jocks at Forks High School.

"Leave us alone, you slut," Angela agreed.

"Oh, your soooo off the cheerleading squad now." Lara steamed. Angela was a cheerleader?

"Whatever." She didn't seem to mind though. Lara clicked her fingers and they walked, no that isn't a proper description. They _waddled _off, wiggling their butts to the extreme.

"Thanks guys. I can't handle Lara and Ben in one day." I really meant it. It was too much for me to bare.

"Ben?" Edward asked. Oops. I hadn't told him yet. Or anyone for that matter.

"Oh, uh, he kinda asked me to the dance." I shuddered. Jimmy laughed.

"You serious? Ben Marley? That's funny!"

"Not really," Edward disagreed. I was shocked. Sticking up for me again? "You can see the frustration in her face. She obviously doesn't think it's funny either."

"I think it's damn annoying." He smiled at me. Was I ever going to get used to his perfection? It just keeps hitting me over an over again.

"Okay… hate to interrupt your little flirting session there, but I'm starving. Can I have some of your pizza, Eddy?" He was still staring into my eyes.

"Sure, whatever." He obviously had no intention of eating. Even though I did pay for it. He was still looking at me as he said this.

"Dude! Just ask her out!" Angela exclaimed.

"I told you, we're just friends." He finally let me go to let me speak.

"Friends don't look at each other that way, let me tell you." Lucy snickered. I frowned. Were my dreams coming true? Did he really like me back? After 3 days?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It had been 2 weeks since I had met Edward, and our friendship was flourishing. Our lunch table now had not only the original 3, but they were now joined by Ben, who now had asked Angela to the dance, Tyler, a boy named Drew, who I met in English, and another shy girl, a friend of Lucy's, Gina. It was a good group. I still wore black, but only skinny jeans now. I had recently been shopping with Angela, and I bought some new t-shirts and some pretty jackets. Yes, I say pretty now. I barely listen to screamo anymore, because it hurts my ears. My favourite band had now been replaced with The Fray. People no longer teased me about my hideous scars, and my life is no longer tedious. My weekends were never boring, because I always had a friend to help me study, and occasionally, okay, more than occasionally, Edward would come over to shoot hoops, because we had a basketball ring. He was teaching me a fair bit too.

There is still progress to be made, but I am a happier person now.

It was 2 days before the dance. People had asked me, more in the last week or so, but I still did not wish to humiliate myself in front of the whole school in high heels by tripping. Plus, there was only one person I wanted to go with.

It was a Thursday, and I was having lunch with the usual crowd. Everyone else was chatting amongst themselves, and were paying no attention to me while I ate. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I had 3 guesses to who it might be. I turned to see Edward's gorgeous face smiling warmly at me.

"You know, I was thinking…" he had a thoughtful expression.

"Yes?"

"You know how your not going to the dance?" This could not be happening.

"Oh no! Not you too?" Even though I would have said yes, I really didn't want to go.

"Would you please let me finish?" I waited. "I was wondering if I could come to your house that night, for dinner?" I usually made dinner now, since my mother was always out, and my sister was staying at my grandma's for the next month. Don't ask me why. Because I don't know.

"Sure. If you want to eat my crappy meals." He laughed and poked my nose. I should be used to his casual touch, but believe it or not, it still makes my heart go spastic. I could handle that. Saturday, my place. Not a date or anything. Just friends keeping each other company. Nothing to worry about.

As I drove home, I thought about what it would be like. What we would talk about. What I would cook. Crap. What was I going to cook? What's a tasty vegetarian meal? Veggie Burgers? Indian? Tofu nuggets? I'll have to figure it out later.

That night, like always, Edward stared in my dreams. I still had the same dream with him laughing, but now I could see me. I was laughing too. I was wearing not black, but colourful clothes, like something out of a movie. But that night, the dream changed. I was at the dance, in his arms. He leaned down towards me…

And then I woke up. Crap. That was a good one! Darn alarm clock. I looked out the window. Sunshine. This week had been very sunny, and I had wore a t-shirt every single day.

I ate breakfast, changed and was about to head out the door, when a shiny silver Mercedes in the drive caught my eye. I practically ran out the door.

"Why don't you ride with me today," he said as I approached him.

"Sure. How warm is it?"

"Pleasant." Of course. He was used to the California heat. I got into the car and was surprised by how good it smelled. It smelled of him. It didn't take long got get to school, and conversation was light. He mostly asked me about tomorrow.

"So, is your mother going to be home?"

"Nope. She'll be at work. And my sister's still at my Grandma's. So we'll be alone." I can't tell you how much that pleased me, and frightened me.

"Good." Why would he ask that? Was he planning on talking about something that my mother shouldn't know? Strange.

When we were at school, we were met by Angela and Ben. She noticed that we'd come to school together.

"Oh for heaven's sake! Each day that you're not asking her out, you get closer. This is maddening!" She directed this at Edward.

"Oh, shush." I giggled. I needed to talk to her alone. I needed girl time. Yes, girl time. I had that now.

"Why don't you talk to Ben for a little bit?" I whispered into his ear.

"Why?" he asked.

"I need to talk to Angela. You know, girl stuff."

"Okay, I don't want to know." He walked towards Ben. That's the good thing about Edward. He doesn't hover. When I need time alone, he'll gladly give it to me, because that's what I want. I walked over to Angela.

"Angela, I have a question about Edward."

"Fire away."

"Why do you keep saying that he should ask me out?"

"Oh come on. Every time he looks at you, there's a spark." She clicked her fingers to make her point. "He's always around you, and the way he defended you in the lunch room a couple of weeks ago, I would say that he's head over heels for you. And how do you feel about him?" I hadn't thought about this. I'd never admitted my feelings for him out loud to anyone. But I could trust Angela. She was a friend.

"Well, I'm pretty crazy about him."

"See? You were meant for each other. He was the only one who brought you out of that deep dark cavern you were in before. Are you going to the dance with him?"

"No, but he's coming over for dinner that night. He asked."

"Yes! That's wonderful! You know, I bet he's going to admit his feelings for you!"

"How do you know?" I really doubted that was going to happen.

"I can just tell. Why would he have asked you?" That got me. Why else would he have asked this morning if my mother was going to be home?

"Hmm…"

"I'm going to Trig, but we'll talk in Biology. See ya!" She ran off to her class. Was she right? Did he return the same feelings that I had? Or was it what I originally thought? Just friends keeping each other company? I ran back to Edward too eagerly.

"Hey. I'm back." I puffed.

"So I see. Nice girl chat?"

"Yes, thank you. Ready for the English test?" We had been preparing for this one for ages. Edward insisted that we got a head start.

"Yes, I think so. I've been studying a lot lately." He laughed. He practically spent the whole time studying. When he was at home.

"Yes, I know. Your tutoring sessions really helped though." Edward had been giving me tutoring for a little bit, when we weren't playing basketball.

"Now are you grateful that I made us start early?"

"Yes. Enormously so."

The test was hard, but I answered every question. I can't say I answered them right, but at least there was no blanks. Edward finished his 15 minutes early, but it took me the whole hour. He winked at me when I'd finished. He also mouthed 'easy' when they were collecting them up. I rolled my eyes in return.

In Gym, we were doing Tennis, out on the courts. I managed to hit myself in the back with the racket. It hurt. I let out a whimper, but somehow, from the other court, Edward seemed to notice. He came to my side in a second. Like all friends would do. I was sick of that word now. I desperately longed for something more. I was okay in the end, but he refused to leave me. So he became my partner. He taught me how to serve, and when his hand touched mine, I was sure he could hear my heart thump. How embarrassing. At the end of class, we said our goodbyes, and I started to walk off to Biology, but he caught my arm. I turned to see his smiling face just inches away from mine.

"Have fun." He breathed, and I felt dizzy. He let me go and went upstairs. I stumbled to the lab, where Angela was waiting. She instantly went into conversation mode.

"So, you were saying how you're going to have him over for dinner tomorrow, but what are you going to cook? I mean, does he like veggie meals?"

"I haven't figured that out yet. I was thinking veggie burger pieces and salad in wraps. As opposed to chicken or something."

"Sounds… interesting. You came with him to school this morning didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. That was completely unexpected though."

"Oh." She seemed disappointed.

"Girls, if you talk one more time, I'm going to give you both detentions!" That was the end of that conversation.

Lunch was normal, and Angela and Ben were making goo-goo faces at each other. Edward never stopped smiling the whole time, but then again, neither did I. Jimmy was going on about the dance, how he was looking forward to it. He was going with Lucy, who I was thrilled for. Gina was going with Tyler, and as for Lara, well, she was expecting someone to ask her, but no one did. So she reluctantly said she was going with Stanley. He had become nothing more than a disposable excuse. I let Edward buy me lunch, since I was making dinner tomorrow. As the others were talking, he whispered in my ear.

"Looking forward to tomorrow?" It made me shiver.

"Yeah, I think it will be good. I hope you like veggie burgers."

"I've never tried them, but I'll give it a go, for you." He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand, and it made me shiver even more. Unbeknownst to us, Jimmy was watching.

"Movie moment! Damn I wish I had a camera." I blushed. That made Jimmy laugh even harder.

"Shut up, Jimmy. Anymore of that and Lucy won't have a date," Edward frowned. Lucy snickered. Jimmy immediately stopped laughing, and turned towards Lucy. She smiled. I didn't want to feel rude, so I looked away. I noticed Edward doing the same. My gaze automatically turned to him. He was smiling at me as well. His touch had left my heart pounding, and his gaze didn't help. We still had ten more minutes of lunch, so we (being Edward and I) went and sat on that same bench that we had sat on before. He walked close to me, and my heart would not slow. When we sat down, he took my hand and held it in his. No one was around, who cares? I suppose if you looked at us from 3rd person view, we would look like a couple.

"So, do you need any help with studying tonight?" I thought about it. I could let him over, but that would spoil the effect of tomorrow night.

"I don't think so."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Tomorrow afternoon's going to be hell."

"Yeah. Waiting. Ugh." That was the worst part about it. I had the whole day to panic.

"Oh well. It's worth it." He winked at me. Freaking hell! How does he do that? Make my heart go spastic in my chest? Not fair.

"You know, I never thought of Lucy and Jimmy being a couple," I mentioned, changing the subject. "Jamie looks too big and scary. I'm afraid that he might break her." She was so skinny, and so fragile, Jimmy looked like Big Foot next to her.

"Yes, they are an unlikely couple, although whether it will blossom into anything remains to be seen." Though it had started off warm and sunny, a cold wind had blown in. I left my jacket at home, for some reason. He noticed my little shiver. "Are you cold?" He took off his jacket and handed it to me. I tried to shove it back, but it smelled amazing. A more concentrated version of his car smell. I grabbed it and put it around me.

"Thanks. Aren't you cold now?" I was more concerned for him.

"No, cold doesn't bother me. Heat I don't mind either." He smiled. He started to rub my hand, and that helped. Suddenly Jimmy came around the corner and smirked at us.

"Lunch is almost over, lovebirds. Teacher's been yelling at us about your empty trays on the table. Better clean it up before Simpson gets on the case."

"Thanks Jimmy. We'll clean it up."

"Oh, and I kind of ate your sandwich," he said sheepishly. Edward frowned. We both got up and Jimmy ran away. I giggled.

"French is going to be awful. We have a test and I'm going to fail." I had tried really hard for this one, but I'm sure I'm not going to pass.

"You'll do fine. Just think of me and the answers will come," he teased.

"Arrogant much?" But, to be honest, it would help. Actually that's what I do every test. Every class. Every minute. Of every day.

"Just trying to help." We were in the Cafeteria now, and there were no teachers in sight. Or trays were still there, with the remains of Edward's stolen sandwich. Edward rolled his eyes at the mess Jimmy had made. We cleaned up, and went to our lockers to grab our books for the next class. Edward had bribed the Principal to give us lockers next to each other, putting poor Elena Hewitt right by the boys toilets. But having him next to me as I gathered my many French books made it easier to stay calm for the test. But he still noticed my worry.

"You'll be fine," he comforted while he rubbed my shoulder. All the panic ran away from me with his casual touch. "I'll see you after." He cupped my cheek and smiled. "Don't worry." He poked my nose and walked towards his next class. Sure, this test would be synch. For some people, but not for me.

Turned out the test was dead hard. Almost every student, except for Lucy, who breezed through it, was frowning in confusion. One person had their book under the table. I answered most questions, and I finished just in time. We handed back our tests, and headed out. Thank god! Another week finally over! I heard some girls talking about the dance;

"I can't believe the dance is tomorrow! I love dances, but I always end up with the dorky guys. Well, Jason isn't that bad," Jason is another jock. "But my god I would have loved to go with Edward Cullen. He's so hot! But I can't believe he likes Bella! I mean, she's an emo!" Obviously she hadn't been paying attention.

"She's not anymore," the other girl corrected, "Haven't you noticed? She's changed so much since Edward got here, it's not funny. It's like Edward pulled her out of her hole or something." The third girl, who hadn't said a word, cleared her throat. She had been aware of me the whole time. The other girls looked back and blushed. One mouthed an oops. I smiled. I was used to this now. The speculation and rumours. But now I wasn't so sure they were rumours anymore.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Friday night was torturous. I had vegetarian Indian for dinner, with roti bread, rice and tandoori tofu nuggets. Even marinated in tandoori sauce, tofu is still bland. I prefer bean curd. I couldn't get to sleep, and when I did, I woke up again, because of those vivid dreams. In the morning, my cheeks hurt, and I realised I had been smiling in my sleep. Those damn dreams. I had no idea what to do with my Saturday. I was always alone in the house, since my mother left for work early, about 8 o'clock, and returns at 10 in the evening, and my sister was still at my grandma's. I still have no idea why she's there. Mom never gave me an explanation. I was dead bored by 10:30, so I decided to check my emails, log on to MySpace, etc. I had an email from my cousin, who was graduating, and an email from Jimmy. I clicked it.

Hey,

Tell me the truth. Are you really going out with Edward? The whole school wants to know. And screw the 'just friends' crap, would you please?

Do you like him?

Jimmy

This is the moment. The whole school's going to find out I like him. But I don't really care anymore. Apparently he liked me, so what was the point in hiding anymore? I hit reply.

Hey Jimmy,

If you must know, we are not going out **as yet**. He asked if he could come to dinner tonight. Angela reckons that it will be the night where he's 'finally going to admit his true feelings for me'. She said it, not me. And yes, I do like him.

Give me your honest opinion. Do you really think he likes me?

Bella xx

There was a reply back within minutes. He must be online.

Bella,

That's great! Yeah, I think Angela's right about that one. Awww. Cute.

My honest opinion? He really does like you. Maybe it's something more. I've seen the way he looks at you. And haven't you noticed he touches you a **lot** more that a normal friend would? And the way he stares into your eyes… that's why I shouted 'movie moment' yesterday, because you really looked a scene from a movie. You should see how you act around him though. It's so weird. I can hear your heart from the other side of the table!

Jimmy 3

Was I really that bad? I didn't think I was. Although, from a different person's point of view, it would look like that. Like I said, we do look like a couple.

Shut up! I can't help that my heart is abnormally loud. Thanks for the honesty Jimmy, I really appreciate it.

Bella xx

P.S. I'm going outside. See ya!

He didn't reply, so he must have gone offline. I logged off after changing my MySpace song, and headed outside. It startled me when I heard a noise from downstairs. Mom wasn't home yet. Not by a long shot. Grandma? No, she hated this house. I gasped in horror as I realised what it might be. A burglar! I grabbed a baseball bat I kept in my room for some reason, and slowly creaked down the stairs. The sound came again, and it sounded like the TV. I went into the living room and saw a figure. I was about to lunge at it, but it spoke;

"Your door was unlocked. You don't mind that I came early do you?" I would know that voice if I was a million miles away. He turned and smiled, then his expression turned into confusion. "Uh, would you mind putting the bat down? It's making nervous." Oh! The bat. Oops. I dropped it on the ground. He smiled.

"Sorry, I thought you were a murderer or something.."

"You mean that you seriously thought that I was a murderer who turned the TV on?"

"Well, you have to be cautious. And to answer your first question, no I don't mind that you came early. Not at all. Actually, it made my morning." I had been bored for ages, and now there was nothing to worry about. I get to spend the whole day with him. He flashed me the crooked grin, my favourite.

We watched movies, including some scary ones, which I freaked at, since it was a while since I had seen blood, but he seemed to enjoy it. Scary movies are good for dates, because the girls get scared and cuddle the guy for protection. And that's exactly what I did. And why he enjoyed it, I think. Not that it was a date or anything.

Then we had lunch. We drove to the shops and bought salad rolls and chocolate croissants, and headed back. We ate them under the shade of a very large tree in my backyard. It used to have a tree house in it. Even Louie the cat joined us. I had just finished my croissant when his expression changed, like he had something important to say. And it was in the end.

"Hey Bella, I had an ulterior motive to coming over for dinner. I was going to do this at dinner, but I don't think I can hold my nerve until then." My heart skipped a beat. Was Angela right? "The fact is, ever since I first saw you, I knew you were different. I knew that you were special. Not just the whole emo thing, but you, you…" I had never seen him struggle for words so much. "I can't explain it right, but I knew that I could be the one to change you. To make you happy. Then about a week ago, I started dreaming about you. And it would not stop. Then after a while I realised, that I, love you. And it's been this way for a while. I know we're meant for each other." And then something clicked. I realised I loved him too. All this time I had been lying to myself, and I loved him. He was the one. That's the reason why I crawled out of my deep, dark hole. He was my existence. He was reason I'm here. But he kept talking, for I hadn't answered yet. "Now I understand if you don't feel the same way, we can take it slow - " I cut him off.

"I do feel the same way. I just never realised it. I love you too. I love you Edward," I choked. He smiled the widest grin I had ever seen him grin. I was happier than I'd ever been before.

"You know what I dreamed about?" his tone was seductive.

"Um, what?" I stammered.

"This." He held my hand and leaned in. He hesitated, to see if that's what I wanted. It was, so I closed the distance. Then his lips were crashing on mine, moving in synchronization with each other. I had dreamt about this for a long, long time. My dreams were coming true. Luck turned my way for once. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his moved to my waist. This was my area of expertise, since Seth and I had been together for a long time. But now was not the time to think about that idiot. I knotted my fingers in his hair. One of his hands moved to my face. He pulled away, too soon, and brushed his fingers along my cheek. It burned red. He chuckled.

"Well that's a load off my chest. Glad I got that out in the open.," he puffed. I smiled. Yes, I was extremely glad. I wouldn't have been able to do what he just did. "What do you say to more movies?" he grinned.

"Why not?" I cringed at the thought of blood. But he would be there, I would be alright. And I was. I leaned against him, and he was very warm. He wrapped one of his arms around me, and we watched _I Am Legend_. One of the all time greats. Then we watched my favourite movie of all time, _Moulin_ _Rouge_. I cry every time, even though I've seen a gazillion times and I practically know it off by heart. When he noticed I was crying when Satine dies, he held me closer and kissed my hair.

Before we knew it, it was time to cook dinner. It wasn't too hard to cook. I started to warm up the frying pan while Jasper got all the salad stuff out. He chopped the lettuce and the cucumber, and I have to admit, he was really good at it. Figures. He's good at everything. When I was cooking the veggie burgers he put his arms around my waist from behind.

"Smells good. I chopped the tomato."

"Thanks for that. You know, I really could have done it myself. You done enough for today." Yeah, like pouring his heart out to me.

"No, I don't mind. I can't just stand there, while you make the whole thing yourself." His lips were at my hair, so the sound was muffled.

"That's what I do every night."

"Not anymore. I'm going to be around here a lot, so get used to it."

"Really? You'll be here?" The thought of that made me smile.

"As long as you want me to."

"I'll always want you." And that was true, now that I had finally figured it out.

"Figured it out?" Oops. Did I say that out loud? How to explain…

"Well, I figured out why I stopped being emo, out in the backyard before…"

"And?" His tone was impatient, but wary.

"And I figured out that you're my existence. Seth was, but then he disappeared, so I had no existence, and along came you. You're the reason God put me here." He didn't looked surprised, he just grinned.

"I figured it was something like that. Now I'll never let you go." To make his point he tightened his arms around me.

"Good. The burgers are done." I chopped the burgers into little bits and put them in the wraps, which Edward had already prepared. I rolled my eyes. He had done much more than he said he did.

We ate in silence, but it wasn't awkward. We just looked at each other trying to eat the wraps without spilling something. When someone laughed, that would lead to more spillage and more laughter. I couldn't imagine a happier moment. Ever.

After dinner, and cleaning up, we went back to the TV. We watched the news for a bit, then started to watch another movie. It was _Pirates of the Caribbean_, one of my favourites. I laughed a lot.

"What time does your mother get home tonight?" Edward said, at the bit where Elizabeth stabs Barbossa with a knife, only to realise that it does no good, because he's immortal.

"Ten, I think." I wasn't concerned about my mother. She knew Edward well.

"Well, it's 25 to. Should she know I'm here?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't really tell her, but she's used to you coming over. But I suppose not like this." I gestured to me lying on him. "Aww, stuff it, if I get in trouble, so be it." He didn't say anything, but I don't think he was happy with this arrangement.

We were up to the part where Captain Jack and Elizabeth get picked up by the navy, when my mother walked in the door. She looked a mess. She glimpsed at my position and froze.

"Hi, Mom." She still did not move. "Edward came over for dinner." It was getting slightly awkward, so I got up a bit. Edward moved too.

"Hi, Ms. Swan."

"Edward. Uh, may I enquire as to why you to were lying there… like that?" her tone as now suspicious.

"Umm, well… uh… it's kind of a long story." Not really, but I really didn't want to have this conversation with my mom.

"Oh, I get it. Well, it's nice that you two finally got together. About time too. Why didn't you go the dance?" Only in a small town would the mother of a student know the date of the school spring dance.

"Mom, I can't dance. I can't even throw a ball without it hitting something… or someone."

"Oh, right. Well, your welcome to sleep in the guest room tonight, Edward, since it's so late already. I'll call your parents. I trust you enough that there'll be no shenanigans. Am I clear?"

"Yes," we said together." Oh my god, I have the best mom ever. Some mothers won't even allow a guy into the house, let alone stay the night. I think she knew that Edward would sneak into my room, but she had done stuff like that herself in her teenage years, so I don't think she was worried about it.

When my mom was fast asleep, my door opened and closed. Edward was suddenly there, with his arm around me.

"Did I wake you?" Always the gentlemen.

"No, I wasn't asleep in the first place." Although I was tired, I couldn't get to sleep.

"Oh, good." 

"Although now that you're here, I feel like I could sleep all day."

"I know what you mean. Well, if your that tired, then you should probably sleep."

"Might be a good idea. I'm exhausted."

"Just one more thing before you do though," he found my face and turned it in his direction. His lips were on mine, just briefly, but enough to make my heart soar. And then I drifted to sleep, to the sound of his soft chuckle.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

When I opened my eyes, I was annoyed because my brain had interrupted my dream. Grr. I rolled over, and saw that Edward was still asleep. I was surprised that I hadn't woken him with my movement, since I was still in his arms. He was so innocent when he slept, almost like a child. I couldn't bear to wake him up, so I kept very quiet and still and just stared. Eventually though, his eyes opened. He smiled.

"I was sure last night was a dream. It's nice to know that you're actually here."

"See? You can read my mind. I knew it." He laughed. He reached out to stroke my cheek. He must have heard my uneven breath in, because he chuckled again. He moved his across my face and traced my lips. He leaned into kiss them, but a knock on the door interrupted him.

"Bella? I'm going now. Don't do anything funny." Mom was still at home. She starts work at 10 on Sundays. When he heard her car drive away, he moved to press his perfect lips to mine. They stayed like that for a while, and his hand moved to my waist. He tightened his grip on me and pulled me closer to him. I was happy to oblige. Then, to my horror, the door opened.

"The door was open, I thought I'd - " For some reason, Grandma was standing there with her eyes as shocked as mine were. Beside her was my sister, who had a confused look on her face. "What's going on here?" She eyed Edward, who was to my even more embarrassment, was shirtless. This was my worst nightmare.

"Umm… Grandma, this is Edward. He stayed the night last night. Uh…" She was still frozen in place. "Grandma?"

"Get off her right now! What are you doing in her room? She's 17! Do you how indecent it is to - " I stopped her before she gave me the 'safe' lecture.

"Grandma! It's okay. It's not what you think. It's not like that at all. I love him. And to my knowledge, he loves me. We're not jumping into anything. He's my life." I was getting good at this. It was getting easier to admit how much I needed him.

She gave me a confused look. Hang on. This is getting slightly strange.

When I woke up I was relieved to know that it _was_ a nightmare. I was panting and sweating and my hair was a mess. I sighed. Grandma was still with my sister. Mom was at work. Edward was… not here. Where was he? I started frantically looking for him. Then the door opened and he was there, brandishing a tray full of food.

"You called for breakfast in bed, Madam?" He said, amused. "You finally woke up. I was getting worried about that dream you were having. It sounded like a scary one. 'No, Grandma, it's not what you think!'" he quoted. He laughed while he set my tray down. "Your hair looks like a haystack, but I like it." I was still freaked out, but it was getting better now that he was here. "Speak, Bella. I'm getting worried now."

"Oh. Umm… Thanks for breakfast. You could have just woken me up you know."

"No, I don't mind. Anything for you." He smiled sweetly and his words touched my heart. He really did care about me. "Mind if I check my emails on your computer? I was here last night so I didn't get to."

"Sure. Knock yourself out." He kissed me lightly on the lips and walked over to computer. I started to eat the toast, then I realised that he had cut the middle of the bread like a flower, and cracked the egg in it, so the yoke looked like the centre and it looked like a full flower. I thought about how much effort that he had put in, and felt instantly guilty. I wasn't being a very good hostess.

I thought about the reason for the dream. Was it something to do with Edward? Or grandma? Or both? I was so confused. Then I decided it didn't really matter. As I was thinking, Edward had quietly snuck back to my bed, and I didn't even notice. He surprised me by pressing his perfect lips to my throat, and I jumped. He chuckled against my skin. It made me shiver. Then I decided I was sick of breakfast. I'd much rather something else…

"Not hungry?" he noticed as I shoved my tray away.

"No, I'll eat it, but at the moment I'd much rather kiss you." He smiled as he crushed his lips to mine.

When I finally got up, I brushed my teeth, and Edward left me alone to get dressed. Just then my phone buzzed. It was Angela.

"Hey Bella! So, do you want to do anything today?" I had to think about this, on the one hand, I wanted to spend the day with Edward alone, and on the other, I kind of wanted to gloat, just a little bit, that I had gotten the hottest guy on the planet. I didn't respond right away, so she kept on talking. "So, how was last night? Anything interesting happen?" Oh, what the heck.

"Nothing much, except that you were right. He did have feelings for me."

"I knew it! I just knew it!" I could picture her bouncing up and down while still holding her cell in her hand. "So, are you guys an item now? Like, have you kissed him yet?"

"Umm… maybe…" She squealed into the phone. "My mom, being the awesome mom that she is, let him stay over in the 'guest room' last night."

"Oh my god. I wish I had a mom like that! It sooo good that you're together a last! So, what did he say? Tell me his exact words!" I went over the conversation, and she only interrupted a few times, which is not a lot for Angela. Edward eventually came in, confident that I was decent, and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, like he had last night. I was still talking to Angela, but my train of thought was interrupted, because he was tracing his nose along my neck. I couldn't think.

"Bella? You still there? Earth to Isabella?"

"Umm… I'm still here… Tell you what… we'll hang out at the park… around lunch ok? Tell Jimmy and everyone…"

"Ok… See you then! Tell Edward hi!" The phone beeped. I turned around and rested my head on his chest.

"We're meeting everyone at the park around lunch time. You coming?" Although I already knew the answer, I didn't want to be rude.

"Of course, I mean if you're going…"

"Cool. I think we can fit in another movie before we go." This time we watched _10 Things I hate About You_ but I had no idea what was going on because I was kissing Edward the whole time. I didn't really care about the movie anyway.

When it was time to leave, we packed a small bag with candy (gelatine free candy of course) and sorts and walked out. There on the driveway, was Jimmy's car. What's he doing here? He leaned out of the driver' window.

"I had to see it for myself! I couldn't wait to see it in the park! Do you wanna ride?" We looked at each other and shrugged. Why not? We hopped into the back. "Well, it's about time Eddy," he continued. "I though you two were never going to get together, but there it is."

"Let me guess. Ange told you?" I guessed.

"Spot on. She can't keep gossip to herself for 2 minutes. Within seconds she was on emails telling everyone." Edward smiled. He whispered in my ear.

"Oh well. It wasn't like they weren't going to guess anyway." He kissed my forehead. That's true. It was pretty obvious to begin with.

We got to the park, and everyone was there already. They saw us and the girls squealed. The guys just gave Edward high fives. We sat down at the picnic rug, which Lucy had provided, and talked about how it had happened. Of course we didn't tell them everything, because it's gets a bit personal.

"It's awesome that you two _finally_ figured yourselves out." Tyler said.

"I know, right?" Lucy agreed. Jimmy had his arm around her, and it was good to see that they were more than just dance dates. That reminded me.

"By the way. How was the dance?" Jimmy flushed bright red. Everyone looked at Lucy, who was also as red as a tomato. I'm guessing that was the reason he had her arm around her.

"Well," Ange began. "Tyler eventually took Gina, and all of us sort of hung out together. Except for Jimmy and Lucy, who were… ahem… out back… so to speak. Oh, and we learnt that Stanley can't dance. Lara didn't look too pleased. It was hilarious. I think he stepped on her feet about 10 times!" I would have liked to have seen that.

"And Mike Newton? That creepy kid who asked you? Yeah, he didn't even come. I don't think he really wanted to turn up without a date," Gina giggled. Everyone joined in. Just then, Lara and her followers walked by us, glaring as they went along. She saw me leaning against Edward and her mouth popped open and her eyes bulged wide. She stopped dead on her feet.

"Impossible! No! Please tell me you guys aren't together!" To answer her question, Edward kissed me on the cheek. Her face was just too funny. "You'll pay for this, bitch!" She screamed and stomped away, her wannabes running after her.

"Wait, Lara!" Jessica protested. We all laughed hysterically.

"Oh my god that was priceless!" Jimmy high fived Edward. We ate our lunch, talking about the most random things, and somehow the topic came back to us.

"Have you guys kissed yet?" Drew asked. We both looked down and blushed. They laughed. "I'm guessing that's a _yes._" Drew answered his own question.

"I bet they have. _Many_ times." Ange confirmed. "In fact when I was on the phone to her this morning…" I punched her in the arm.

"Shut up!" I hissed. That made them laugh even harder.

Eventually it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and 'see-you-tomorrow's, and headed home. I remembered that Jimmy had given us a ride, so he gave us a lift back. We went inside, and I also remembered that Edward didn't live with me. Yet. So he had to go home as well. This was the part I hated.

"See you tomorrow, I guess." He kissed me on my forehead. He looked at my sad expression and tilted my chin up. "Hey, you'll see me tomorrow. Turn that frown around." He used his finger to pull up the corner of my mouth. Then he leaned down and gave me a very passionate kiss that left me breathless. Then he left in his shiny Mercedes. Now what? Nothing was fun without him.

I guess I could watch the news. But that would be sooooo boring. I was thinking of what to do, when the home phone rang. Who could that be? I had just seen Edward 5 minutes ago, and I wasn't expecting any news… I picked it up, and it was Mom.

"Bella? You need to come to the hospital. It's your grandma. She's been sick over the last few weeks. That's why your sisters' been with her. And now she's … passed away." I froze. So that's what the dream had warned me about. My grandma had been sick. That's why my sister was staying with her. To take care of her. My sister was that kind of person. But, why had Mom not told me? I was really close to Grandma. I used to spend all day with her.

"I…" I started to say, but Mom cut me off.

"I know it's a shock, but you're going to have to get here right away. You were the closest to her." And with that, she hung up. What a day. Lara and Grandma dying in one day. I better get to the Hospital.

When I got there I saw my mother waiting for me. Her face was blotched red which indicated that she'd been crying. My sister was next to her, holding her hand. She'd been crying too. Although it looked like a lot more than Mom. We went in and my Mom directed us to the morgue. That was very depressing. We went past a lot of beds that were empty. Some had people under sheets. Then we came to Grandma. The sight of her was no different when she alive, only now she was white as a ghost, and she was still. She looked peaceful lying there. She was probably in a better place now. I have to admit, I did shed a couple of tears. Even though these memories were very fuzzy, she reminded me of Dad. Then I realised there was another person there. Someone I didn't know. He was wearing a grey suit that hinted at designer origins and a sky blue tie. He looked like someone of importance. He was holding a piece of paper in his hand. He saw my stare and explained.

"I'm Elizabeth Mason's Lawyer, Andy Lawson." His name was ironic. _Law_son. Ha. Oh, and Mason was my mother's maiden name. He held up the piece of paper. "This is her last will and testament. She has left most things to you, Bella." Well that was unexpected. Like I would need any of her stuff. I mean, sure I was close to grandma, but why didn't she leave her junk to someone who had a use for it? Andy gave me the will. I read it briefly. I saw the word _diamond ring_ in there. I realised later that it was left for me. Wow. Diamond ring. The living room set was going to the Salvation Army, and the grandfather clock was going to Uncle John. Everything else was mine. This included jewellery, cookware, utensils and paintings she had collected over the years. It was a lot of stuff.

"Wow," I muttered. This was an interesting day. When we went home my head was still filled of what I was going to do with all my grandma's stuff. We didn't have room for it. Also, my sister was home now. No more 'sleepovers'. It wasn't going to be easy to be alone with Edward anymore. Crap.

The next day on the way to school, my head was still a mess. Edward noticed.

"Something's up. I can tell." He looked really concerned.

"I suppose. My grandma died yesterday and I'm stuck with all her stuff." He gave me a shocked look.

"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry! Wait, you're not worried that your grandma died, but you're worried that you have all her stuff?" He chuckled. "That's not normal at all." He laughed at me until we got to school.

When we got to school, he opened the door for me, like the gentlemen he always is. He draped his arm around me and we walked towards our friends. More people were staring than usual, although I wasn't surprised. They all knew that Lara wanted him badly, and this would make her very, very angry.

"Hey, lovebirds," Jimmy greeted us with a smile. I gave him an evil look. He grinned even wider. He noticed my frazzled and sleep deprived look. I had been up all night trying to think of what to do with all the stuff, but also how I would miss Grandma. "What's up? You look, not normal…"

"Very descriptive Jimmy…" Edward commented.

"I'm okay, it's just that my Grandma died yesterday. They think it was a stroke." Everyone rushed to me and hugged me and gave me soothing comments. "Guys! Jeez, I'm okay!" I looked at Edward. He was looking very amused from his place. Grr.

English was uneventful, although Mrs. Simpson called on me when I didn't have the answer, and I guessed wrong. I few people laughed, but not as many as usual. I wondered why that was. I decided to voice my question to our lunch table, after I'd had no answer from Edward.

"Oh, that's easy," Angela answered. "You're really popular now, if you could call it that. Lara's really jealous, just like everyone else in this place. If they didn't laugh at you, it means that they want to be your friend and not insult you. They want to be 'someone'. A few girls still do that with Lara, but who honestly wants to be friends with a bitch like her?" She laughed without humour.

I took this in to consideration as I walked to French with Lucy. She didn't say much, just let me get lost in my thoughts, only interrupting when I was about to bash into a pole. She asked me a question that I didn't want to answer when we sat down.

"So I keep thinking that Jimmy will ask me on our next date, and he just, doesn't. Is there something wrong with me? Do think he still likes me?"

"Jeez, I don't know, Lucy. I don't tend to pay close attention to your boyfriend."

"Well, if I don't figure it out soon, he won't be my boyfriend for much longer," she spluttered. Thank god Madam Machand walked in at that moment. Awkward palm tree much?

After school, he was waiting for me like usual. He sprung something I didn't expect on me.

"You know, you should meet my parents. I'm always at your house, and you never get to come to mine." It was true, even though I had been with him for some time, I'd never seen his house or his parents. "And you need some cheering up."

"Now? What if they think I'm a nut job?"

"They won't. My mother could care less if you have 3 eyes or webbed feet. As long as I'm happy, they're happy." What nice parents. At least he had a father. _I thought you got over that long ago…_ My brain said to me. 'I did,' I said back. 'Now shush.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As we were driving to his house, I felt a sudden burst of anxiety, like I was going to explode. It made me shiver. I could not bear the though of Edward's parents hating me. Edward put his arm around me as we drove along the long drive up to his house.

"You'll be fine. They will think you're perfectly normal. Not that you are normal. You're much too beautiful to be normal," he offered. I blushed with pleasure at his words. No one had said that ever to me, at least not in that context. Seth had just said I was pretty. Hmmmm…

We came to his house, and it was beautiful. It was massive, and the whole west side of the house must have been glass. It was very modern, and reminded me of something out of a futuristic film Mom made me watch with her.

"Yep, this is what I call home. Mom should be home, but Dad will be here in about…" he looked at his watch and continued. "30 minutes or so."

I had that same burst of anxiety I did in the car, as we stepped in the house. Of course, Esme, Edward's mother was there, with a massive smile on her face.

"Hello Bella! It's so nice to finally meet you! How are you darling?" She was very enthusiastic for a mother.

"Umm, I'm fine thank you." I smelt something coming from the kitchen, which was also huge. "Oh, something smells good…" I sniffed at it some more.

"Oh, yes, I was trying to cook some vegetarian meals, because I knew you were coming, and was attempting to do a Nut Roast. Do you want to try some?"

"Yes, please!" I did, because it smelt amazing. I took a slice and popped it in my mouth. It tasted better than it smelt. I gave her a thumbs up, because my mouth was full of food. Edward laughed. I swallowed and complimented her as Edward dragged me out of the kitchen.

"I'm going to take you on a tour of the house." He started to go up the stairs and I noticed the painting on the wall. It was beautiful. So many of these paintings hung on the walls. "Umm, my parent's rooms, my sibling's rooms, for when they visit, my father's study, and this is my room." He stopped at the end of the hall, into his room.

His room was twice as big as mine, and had twice as many gadgets. Stereo, laptop, iPod speakers, Plasma screen, and other assorted, expensive things.

"What are you listening to?" I wondered, and turned on his stereo. The CD was The Fray. I gasped as the first song started playing. It was _You Found Me_. He moved towards me with added slowness and took my hand. His other hand found my waist and pulled me closer. As a reflex, I put my arms around his neck. We started swaying, like we were dancing, but it wasn't really dancing with me. I giggled.

"What?" he wondered.

"I can't dance. Remember? You've seen me in Gym…" Although, he was too busy shooting goals to notice what I was doing.

"Hmmm, well that's a problem. Maybe we could do something else then?" His tone was playful, and his eyes had a spark of excitement.

"Like what?" I had a sneaking suspicion, but I decided to play along anyway.

"Like… this…" he said seductively, as he lowered his head and gently pressed his soft lips to mine. We stayed like that for I don't how long. It felt like hours, but it also felt like seconds. Then we heard the door open and close from down stairs, along with a clattering of keys and papers. Carlisle, Edward's father, was home. He pulled away, to my disappointment. He noticed my pout, and laughed.

"You should meet Dad, he's really nice."

"Oh, I believe you."

We went downstairs to meet his father. Of course, I immediately realised where Edward got his good looks from. He looked like a movie star! Why does everyone in the world have to be more beautiful in the world?

"Hello. You must be Bella.," he said smoothly.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you Dr. Cullen." Well, I didn't want to rude. I addressed him with his proper title.

"No, please call me Carlisle. Titles make my skin crawl," he shuddered. Edward chuckled quietly from behind me. "Well, I have some work to do. If you'll excuse me…" He went upstairs to his office.

"Let's go back upstairs…" he whispered seductively in my ear.

"With your father in the house? I think not. Lets go somewhere else. Like the park or something." Although, as long as I was with him, it didn't matter where I was.

When we got to the park, we saw a massive gathering of people around something I couldn't see. Edward was squinting as well. We decided to walk up to it. To my horror, I saw that Lara was in the middle of the circle, with someone else. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The boy smiled at me, then his smile dropped and turned to a hateful stare when he saw Edward. I recognised the smile instantly. Seth. Seth? Why is he here? My breathing became uneven, and my cheeks started to blush red.

"Seth?" I breathed.

"Hey, you still recognise me. That's a plus. I'm glad to see you've moved on." He gestured towards Edward. But he didn't look glad at all.

"What are you doing here?" Lara answered this for me.

"Easy. I invited him. It's not hard to track people down you know. Now that you have your one true love back, I can have mine." She reached for Edward's hand. He swiftly pulled it away and tightened his grip on mine.

"Ummm, it doesn't work that way," I said coldly to Lara. "I love Edward. One and only. It's Seth's fault I became emo. And Edward helped me out of it. Therefore-"

Seth cut me off.

"You turned emo?" he had real concern in his face.

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Oh, I just – I'm sorry I did that to you," he apologised.

"Whatever. I'm lucky I have people like Edward, huh?" At that point Seth almost growled at Edward, and Edward growled back.

"Well, I'm staying in town for as long as takes for you to realise that you love me, and not him. I want you back so badly and it's killing me." A look came across his face that I recognised. It was the look that alerted me to what was coming on that stupid day.

"Too late. Maybe you should have figured it out a little earlier. Then the pain would be gone by now." I hadn't even noticed the crowd. They were all immensely listening to the conversation. But I didn't care. Things needed to be said.

"Well, I won't stop fighting until I get you back." He then turned to Edward. "She was mine first, and you can't just take her like that. Why can't you accept that her heart belongs to someone else?" My blood boiled over. I was so angry that my nails were digging into Edward hand. That would explain the pained expression. I walked up to Seth and slapped him full on the face. People gasped. Ahh, that's better. Now, I really should have done that a long time ago. Seth was wincing on the ground. The crowd was gasping and whispering and Lara, well, she was astonished.

"Piss off, Seth. You had your chance. And you blew it." And with that, I walked away, dragging Edward along with me. Edward said nothing as we got into his car. His eyes were wide in astonishment. He said nothing, but he didn't start the car either. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Please say something," I whispered.

"I… didn't… think… know… wow." Wow is right. I just slapped my ex in the face.

"I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of that. I hate Lara so much right now." I growled when I said her name.

"No it's okay. But can I ask you something?" What could he possibly want to ask me at this point?

"Sure. Fire away."

"Do you love him? Be completely honest. Not sparing my feelings?" To his much surprise, I laughed. Silly Edward.

"Of course I don't silly." I put my hand on his cheek. "You know that. I love you. Look into my eyes. You can see it's true. And to prove my point…" I leaned closer to kiss him. He smiled and obliged.

I was woken by my cell phone ringing. Who could be ringing at – what time was it? Edward stirred next me. It was amazing how fast he could get to my house and climb through my second story window. I checked the number. It wasn't one that was in my phone book. But I answered anyway.

"Hello?" I muttered sleepily.

"Bella? It's Seth." Grr. I was about to hang up, but he interrupted. "Don't hang up. See, I know you that well. I want to prove to you that I love you more than that bastard Edward, is it? Look out your window." Without thinking about I walked to my window. Edward was sitting up in my bed, and Louie had jumped off my bed and sulked away to the corner. Outside, Seth was on the ground with his phone in his hand, smiling. Edward walked over the window and looked down. Seth's smile dropped.

"Yeah, well bad luck. I'm sorry you had to walk over here to meet disappointment." Edward was reaching for the phone. I looked at him with alarm. He met it with a reassuring look. I gave him the phone.

"Seth? This Edward. The fact of the matter is that I love Bella. Period. And she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to. So, if you'd stop harassing her, it would be greatly appreciated." He closed the phone, hanging up. He smiled. Could there be a better man in the whole entire world? He put his arms around me and I leaned into his chest. He traced his long fingers up and down my spine, making me shiver.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you." He took me back to my bed and lay us down. I was tired, but I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to do other things… He leaned in and started to kiss me, but it wasn't the same as our normal kissing. It was fiercer, almost. He ran his hand down my waist. I shivered involuntarily. He pulled away and rubbed his arm. I realised my nails had been digging into his forearm, like this afternoon. I would have to cut them.

"It's a school night. And you've had a long day." That was true. In one day, I had school, met Edward's parents, slapped Seth in the face, and woken up in the middle of the night to his phone call. Jeez. "Sleep, Bella." He stroked my hair.

We got to school and were met by all my friends, like usual, but there was another person in the circle. I don't believe it. Will he never give up?

"Bella, this is Seth. He's new," Angela introduced. Like he needed an introduction.

"Oh, I know him." I glared at him.

"You do? Great! A person you know!" How could Angela be so blind? Seth cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I'm not just staying, I'm moving here. I lied."

"Wouldn't be the first time. Oh well, It's foolish to think you can change a person. I guess my efforts were wasted." I glared at him some more. I noticed Edward was doing the same. Jimmy rubbed his neck at the awkwardness of the situation. Thank God the bell rang at that moment.

"So what do you have in first Seth?" Lucy asked him.

"Ummm, English." Crap.

"Well, that will make things more interesting, won't it?" Lana giggled as she walked by.

Edward and walked to class like usual, hand in hand, but Seth was trailing along behind us, and we were ignoring him. Why did I even date him in the first place? We sat at our regular desks, and Seth got shunned to the front. Sucks for him. He got the usual "new guy" stares. I heard whispers from the girls like:

"I heard that he's Bella's ex, and that she slapped him yesterday at the park!"

And others like:

"Yeah well I heard that Lana invited him, so she could get at Edward." Of course I don't think these girls knew there was truth behind those rumours. Finally Simpson started the class, not paying Seth a single glance.

Luckily I didn't have P.E. with him but I did have Biology with him. Great. I usually sat by myself while everyone else had partners, so lucky me, I gained a Biology partner. Stupid Mr. Thomas. Half way through the lesson, he started to talk to me. I say start, because he didn't stop.

"Why don't you believe me?" he whimpered.

"I do believe you. It's just that your too late. My heart belongs to Edward. End of story."

"We belong together. You know that. Think of how we used to be."

"Yes but that's exactly it. It's how we _used_ to be. Not how we _are_. And we don't belong together. You proved that long ago. Edward is the _one and only_. I don't know if I can emphasize that enough," I whispered.

"Okay, I'm going to come clean with you. The only reason I broke up with you is because… because…"

"Yes?" This should be interesting.

"My parents were threatening to kick me out of the house if I didn't. They said you were a bad influence." He looked down at the table. I raised my eyebrow.

"That's the most pathetic excuse for an excuse I've ever heard."

"Well it's true. Let me prove it to you." He leaned in to fast for me to react and his lips were on mine before I knew it. I struggled against him, pushing against him with all my strength, but it did no good. I was using so much energy I was getting dizzy. I was struggling to keep my mouth closed as his was trying to pry it open. I suddenly remembered that we were in a crowded classroom, teacher and everything. Was he crazy? I was slapping him with all my might, and wondering why nobody was doing anything. I ran out of energy and everything went black.

When I woke up, I was lying on my back, on a very uncomfortable bed I must say, and a bright light was making my eyelids red through closed eyes. I opened my eyes to see Edward's god like face staring back at me. He relaxed as I came to life.

"Oh Bella, I was so worried!" I realised I was in the Health Centre, and we were alone.

"Can you promise me something?" The anger was still bottled up inside me.

"Anything," he promised.

"Kill Seth for me, because apparently, I don't have the strength," I growled. Edward laughed.

"Yes, Drew told me about that shenanigan he pulled. I could literally kill him for that." He narrowed his eyes. I sat up. I felt a lot better now. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay though?"

"I guess. A little hungry though. We're missing out on lunch. You feel well enough to walk?" I was, but I don't know if I could stand all the whispers, the rumours, the stares. But more of them would directed at Seth, not me.

"Sure. Let's eat!" He laughed at my mock enthusiasm.

We walked to the cafeteria, hand in hand, like this morning. People came rushing up to me asking if I was okay, and commenting that Seth was a jerk. I laughed it off.

We sat at the table, and I was relived to see that the number at the table was normal. Angela noticed.

"He's sitting over there. By himself. Nobody kisses my girl without her permission," she stated. She smiled.

"Thanks, Angela. I really appreciate it."

"So do I, as a matter a fact," Edward said. That didn't surprise me. I imagine he would have gone bananas when he heard the story from Drew.

"Yeah, I figured that would be the case. By the way, how are you?" She asked.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Bella, you passed out while your ex was kissing - no - assaulting you. It's normal to be a little shaken."

"I really am fine. Just annoyed you know." That was the truth. Although it was a bit more than anger, let me tell you that.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept tossing and turning, and one time I actually tried counting sheep.

"Do want me to sing you to sleep?" Trust Edward to find an option that involved helping me. I was grateful that his tone was still gentle.

"I don't want to sleep. I want to do something else." I was too agitated.

"Like what?" he whispered.

"Seth fought for me today, why don't you fight back like a normal guy? Go one step further?"

"I'm not following you." Oh jeez. Slow today are we? I decided to give him a hint. I put my arms around his neck and started to kiss him. He was confused, but didn't hesitate. I pulled my hand to the front of his shirt, and undid the first button. He froze as he put the words with the action. I swear I heard the click.

"Bella," he whispered.

"What?"

"Can't we do this some other night?"

"Why not tonight?" I needed to get that awful memory of today out of my head and replace it with something else.

"Well, I'd rather we didn't do it as a reaction to Seth." Nothing got past him.

"Oh. Another night then." I was suddenly tired. My eyelids drooped.

"Yes, sleep my only love." And I drifted to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The morning was as usual. Edward drove me to school, reassuring me along the way, walked into the crowded locker bay, got our books, walked to English, hand in hand. Just another day in the office. When we entered the classroom, I noticed Seth sitting by himself, with no one around him, even though almost the whole class was there. His little stunt yesterday but must have cost him a lot of respect. He stared at me and glared at Edward as we walked in. The whole room was silent. Edward, to my surprise, didn't say anything. He just towed me to our usual spots and didn't look twice at Seth. How can he be so calm at a time like this? But I know Seth, he wouldn't let this go.

"You really don't have anything to say to me?" Seth taunted.

"You don't deserve to be spoken to," Edward replied. Ouch! Well, it serves him right. Seth started to walk over to our table.

"You honestly have no issue with me?" he ignored the last comment as if Edward had never said it. He put his hand on my cheek and I slapped it away.

"Look, it's kind of obvious that Bella doesn't want you. Which works out in my favour quite nicely."

"But she's wanted me before. And I gave her what she wanted." Uh-oh. Please tell me he's not going to tell Edward about…

"And what have you given to her that I haven't?" Edward retorted, quite annoyed now.

"It's more what I took." Seth gave an evil smile. Oh no, no, no, no, no! He's going to reveal my deepest darkest secret that I had never hoped to share. Especially not in front of Edward … Edward's confused look made Seth go on. "You remember Bella? That one amazing night where I took you virginity?" Crap. The whole room gasped. Well, there it is. If it's possible, I hate Seth more than I did yesterday. I showed my appreciation by giving him a slap on the cheek. Really hard too. I looked at Edward. His face was blank. No emotion what so ever. Suddenly, he got up and walked out of the room. Ugh. I followed him out. I didn't look back.

"Edward wait! It was a long time ago! When I actually had feelings for him! I was young and stupid! Please say something!" I practically shouted. He stopped and turned to face me, and I almost bumped into him. The tears overflowed and I cried into his chest. "Seth's… an idiot… I… never…" I tried to say between sobs.

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm not mad at you. Just a bit shocked, you know. Seth must be really desperate."

"You bet he…is…"

"Just out of curiosity, how old were you when you…" he trailed off and I tell where the question was headed.

"Ummm, about 15. Like I said, young and stupid. I didn't even want to! He made me. Well, not really, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying no…" I didn't tell him that I also wanted to impress my friends by doing it. That was something I would keep under my hat. We continued hugging in the hallway, and thank God no one came past. He started to hum our song, _You Found Me_, and that made me feel a lot better. Eventually we walked back to the classroom. I hesitated at the door, I really didn't want to go in.

"I'll be with you. You don't have to worry," he assured me. That's true. As long as I'm with him, I'll be fine. We walked into the classroom. A large amount of whispers erupted form the kids as we walked in, and it was no surprise that Simpson both gave us lunch time detentions for walking out on her lesson. Seth looked pleased with himself, for reasons I don't want to know. I gave him the most evil stare I could muster. As the teacher resumed her lesson, a note landed on my desk. It was from Tyler.

**You got laid at 15? Way to go Swan!**

**-Tyler**

I wrote on the back:

**Shut up. Just shut the hell up. I am not in the mood for your antics.**

I chucked it at him. I didn't even look to see what his reaction was.

Later, at lunch, the table was quieter than usual. Jimmy and Lucy were ditching to do ungodly things that no one wants to even think about, let alone talk about it. I didn't want to eat, or drink. I didn't want to talk to anyone other than the love of my life, Edward. I just leaned on his shoulder the whole time. I wanted a enormous earthquake to erupt and for the building to fall down on me, so I couldn't hurt anyone else. But I knew that Edward would never let that happen. So what now? He's obviously been shaken by this morning's confrontation, and maybe a bit hurt. I had to do something. I can't just sit here. If only love was easy as Jimmy and Lucy's –

Hey, we could ditch! Like Jimmy and Lucy!

I whisper in Edward's ear:

"I need to get out here. Want to go to the park? Ditch the rest of the day?" At first he gave me a disapproving look, but then he actually thought about it.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. Let's go." He got up, holding my hand, and dragged me along. Angela questioned me with her look, but Edward's hold was too strong, and we were out the doors before I had a chance to explain. We got into his car, and drove to the park.

As soon as we were in the parking spot, he leaned over, took my face with his soft, but firm, hands and pulled me into the most passionate kiss I have ever experienced. We stayed like for god knows how long, and when he let go, both of us seemed a bit breathless.

"That was definitely the highlight of my day! Wow." I gasped. He just smirked. Obviously proud that he had successfully distracted me from the horrors of this morning.

We walked around and around the park so many times I was getting dizzy, but it wasn't so bad when you've got the best person anyone could ever meet (or kiss, in my case) holding your hand. I'm so lucky. There was a time when luck wouldn't even look at me. How did I suddenly win the lottery? Not that Edward's a lottery prize. He's much better.

"Hey, Bella?"

"Mmm?" I didn't like the sound of this…

"I have to go away for a week or so, to California, because my sister, Rosalie, has cancer, and it's unlikely that she'll survive to see next month. My family's all very distraught, and we're going to, well, see her off." He must have seen my face drop, because he started to rub comforting circles on my hand.

"Oh. I'm sorry," I sighed. "I guess I'll have to survive on my own for a week. Dang. Promise you'll text me. When are you leaving?" I was hoping it was next week. But my logic told me there was only one week left of the month, and Rosalie isn't going to last to next week.

"Tonight. And don't worry, I promise I'll text you everyday, and night, and text goodnight, and good morning, and - "

"Okay! I get it." Then a thought occurred to me. "Who will protect me from Seth?"

"I'm sure Jimmy and all the boys will take care of you. You'll be fine." He rubbed my shoulders. I wrapped my arms around him, and it might be for the last time in a while.

School was over by the time we left the park, so we went straight home. He had to go and pack, so he had to leave pretty soon after we got home.

"I'll be back in a week. I promise. Keep my heart safe, I've left it with you." And then he kissed me for what felt like quite a long time. But in reality it was probably only about 5 seconds. He broke away and smiled my favourite smile, the crooked smile. It still makes my heart soar. Then blowing me a kiss, he walked out the door, got into his car, and drove away. As soon as he turned the corner, I felt the weight of loneliness fall on me like a ton of bricks. Ouch.

I didn't eat dinner, I didn't feel like eating. I didn't do my homework, I couldn't possibly concentrate. I didn't say anything the whole night, even to my sister, my throat was so dry from all the crying. I couldn't get to sleep, afraid that the nightmares would come.

At about 2 A.M., I glanced at my second drawer on my bed-side table. The one with the knives in it. I had to get rid of the pain by making some real physical pain, and it will go away and I can go to sleep. Without thinking, I opened the drawer and got out the one with the black handle. I was about to hold it to my arm then I jerked it away. What was I doing? I'm not that person any more. But I need to get to sleep. It was like the angel and devil on the shoulders thing. With the devil in my ear, saying "you know you want to…" I was about to cut, when my phone buzzed. It was a text from… I checked the name. Edward! I dropped the knife in the drawer again, and shut it. I opened the text.

To: **Bella**

From: **Edward**

Bella,

i cant think of anything but u. its driving me crazy.

i cant sleep. i hope i didnt wake u. txt back?

i love u. xxxxxxxx edward 

To: **Edward**

From: **Bella**

I cant sleep either. but mostly because if I sleep the nightmares will come.

I miss u. is ur sister ok?

I love u more. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo bella ;)

The reply was so quick that I had barley put the phone down. He always was one for fast texting.

To: **Bella**

From: **Edward**

nightmares?

shes ok 4 now. The doctors still dont think she'll live past the end of the month. u should c mom. she cant look at Rose without tearing up.

i love u more than the whole world.  edward

To: **Edward**

From: **Bella**

its just the ones I used 2 get b4 i met u. no big deal.

thats good. ur whole family must be going crazy. 

i love u more than the universe. ha beat that! lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx bella

To: **Bella**

From: **Edward**

hmmmm.

yeah pretty much.

Ok u win. lol :) god I love u.

I'll be back b4 u can miss me. i promise.

goodnight my only love. xxxxxxxxxxx

p.s. b4 rose passed out 4 the night, she said she would have loved to have met u.

This hit me real hard. His successful sister wanted to meet me? But the point was, now I felt no urge to cut myself. I was tired now, and the nightmares would not resurface. At least not tonight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The next day was a Thursday. I had to drive myself today, and the trip was very lonely. I got to school, and Seth was leaning against his car, across the parking lot. The gang was hanging near Tyler's van. I walked up to them. I needed emotional support.

"Hey Bella. No Edward?" Angela enquired.

"Umm, yeah. He's in with his family in California, making the most of his sister's last days."

"Awww! That's so sad!" Gina moaned.

"How long's he there for?" Drew asked.

"Till Wednesday next week. I have to survive till then." I let out a deep breath. Only 6 more days.

English was uneventful, P.E. was boring, Biology was a waste of time, French was mind-numbing. And don't even get me started on how tedious lunch was. With no one there to hold your hand, or whisper comforting words when you are getting stressed, or tell you the answer when you don't know it, or protect you from the bad things in life (which includes Seth), you can't do things that you want to do. The whole week was miserable, even though Edward kept his promise and texted or called me everyday.

It was Tuesday, the following week, the day before my love came back. I was at home, watching TV. It was about 4 o'clock, and nothing particularly interesting was on. I heard a loud knock on the door. At first I ignored it, because I couldn't be bothered getting up, but it kept knocking. Whoever it was was the most impatient person on the planet. I finally got up and opened the stupid door. It did not surprise me that Seth was standing there.

"Bella." I was about to shut the door in his face, but he had his foot in the door. Dang. "I can't keep living like this. I'm miserable. I can't sleep at night. I have nightmares. I love you, and I wish you could see that you love me too. Stop lying to yourself. You don't love that other jerk, you only think you do." I stood there and started at him. How could he say stuff like that? He doesn't know me. He was the jerk. "I need to know that you at least acknowledge the fact that you love me, even a little bit."

"I don't know why you came, Seth. You're wasting your time. My answer is the same. I love Edward. End of story. No. Questions. Asked."

"I am so sick of this. Why I don't I just force you to realise?" He ran to me and grabbed my face. I wish he wasn't so freaking strong! He kissed me in a way that should be illegal. The real frustrating thing was that he had me pinned me down so that I couldn't raise my arms and hit him. He started to push me towards the couch. Whoa, hang on. This is more than the usual "kiss to make Edward pissed". I don't know how he was doing it, but he managed to push me onto the couch, while still kissing me, and holding my arms down. Ugh! He was on top of me! Ouch, he was hurting my hand. And my lips. OUCH! He bit me! This is ridiculous! But I can't do anything! Help!

Then he did something I did not expect. Not at all. He ripped off my shirt in one go. I tried to protest, but I couldn't. My mouth was occupied by his disgusting tongue, and my arms were being held down by two enormous hands. They were like tree trunks. I struggled and struggled and tried to break free, and got one arm out. He broke off all of a sudden. He had the dirtiest look I've ever seen on him. I gasped for air.

"If you don't do what I want you to, I'll freaking slap you, bitch." He was bluffing. If he loved me, he wouldn't do that. So I screamed. His hand went up and across my face so hard and so fast that it knocked me out.

I dreamt of many things. Of Edward, my grandma, and my cat Louie. They were good dreams. Not anything at all like the nightmares I had before. At this point I think I woke, but my eyes weren't open yet. I felt cold, and the couch seemed cold too. I could still feel weight on me, but not as much. Then I felt the pain. At first it was mild. But it grew into a worse pain than I have ever felt before. I opened my eyes.

I screamed. I looked down at myself, and saw bruises from head to toe. My head was bleeding, and my cheek I think. My wrists were definitely broken, I could feel them. He was hitting me when he realised I was awake. He slapped me on the face again.

"You thought I was bluffing." He said with a smirk on his face. I couldn't speak. The pain was so overwhelming. I thought I heard the door open. Mom wouldn't be home yet, same with my sister. It had to be…

"You dickhead! STOP! Then the weight of his hand was gone, but the pain was still there. Then I heard things crashing and banging and swear words, and I knew that Seth and Edward were fighting. Edward … I need you…

Then the banging stopped and I heard Edward say "dickhead". My eyesight was blurry but I could still see his face. It was one of shock, dismay, horror, sadness, and remorse.

"Bella! Oh my god, what has he done to you…" his voice faded off. No! I needed his voice! Come back! Come back…

You know when people say when your drowning you whole life flashed before your eyes, in little sections? That didn't happen for me. Only my life with Edward flashed before my eyes. I wasn't even drowning. Although I felt like I was. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't find my voice. All my friends flashed by. Angela, Ben, Drew, Jimmy, Gina, Lucy, Tyler… There was a picture of me and Edward hand in hand at the park. God help me.

When I woke up, I was no longer cold. There was something between me and the bed this time. Except the bed was uncomfortable, and I was kind of sitting. I opened my eyes to a bright light. Ouch. My vision was blurred for a moment, but I saw the casts around my wrists, and gauze around my fingers. Seth broke them too? I tried to feel my head, but some sort of tube stopped me from doing so. Grr. I hate IV's. There was an annoying machine beeping in the background. Then I saw the most heavenly face on planet earth. Edward.

"Oh, Bella. You're awake at last!" He smiled his famous crooked smile, and the heart monitor beeped loudly. Heh… that's going to be embarrassing.

"How long have I been out?" My voice seemed strange, almost hoarse.

"Almost a week. I thought you were never going to wake up!"

"A week? Wow. What happened to Seth?"

"He's on trial for attempted murder. He'll be locked away for a long time I imagine." He kind of seemed pleased by this fact. I don't blame him. "I'm just glad I came back a day early, otherwise he would have killed you."

"It hurt so much," I whimpered.

"I know honey. It's okay. I'm here. It's going to be alright." He reached for a hug and I reached back, but the stupid tubes yanked at my arm. Ugh. He hugged me anyway, and I instantly felt like a million bucks. When he pulled away, he saw my pout and smiled. I suddenly realised that I felt hungry. But it was a weird kind of hungry.

"Hey, how did they feed me when I was knocked out?" I was honestly curious.

"Well, don't get freaked out, but they had to feed you through a tube. Let me tell you, it's not the most pleasant thing to watch either." he laughed. That sweet sound that's music to my ears. I desperately wanted to change the subject, but a nurse came as I was about to say something. She changed the IV fluid, checked my clipboard and checked the heart rate monitor.

"Are you feeling stressed honey? Your heart rate was a bit high there…" Grr.

"No, I'm okay." I insisted. Edward smirked. Grrrrrrrr.

"Okay. Well, I'll go tell your doctor that your awake." And she left.

"Your mother's here. She's in the café getting you some real food, just in case you woke up. Which you did," Edward smiled.

"Chips? Chocolate? A vegie burger?" I pined for real food.

"Anything you want." He was so eager to please.

"Yay. Oh by the way, how's your sister?" I was honestly concerned. He had just come back from California, where his whole family was, to me in a hospital bed. He gave no answer and looked down, so I knew that Rosalie had died. "I guess I know." I took his hand and started rubbing circles, like he had done the previous week. Wait, it was 2 weeks ago. Wasn't it? Ugh, so confusing! He seemed to relax at the movement. This time I was the one doing the comforting.

"She died on the Monday. My mother's in shock and my father won't say anything. The whole family's a bit on edge at the moment. I think my brother's taking a week off work." He looked down the whole time he said this.

"Oh gosh. I'm so sorry Edward."

"You're sorry? I should never have left. You can't protect your self." He said this without a hint of humour in his voice. "You are very, very lucky that I came home early." I was lucky. But not just that he came home early. That I had him at all.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I stayed in the hospital for about 2 weeks. Edward even slept next to me one night. I went home on a Thursday. Of course Edward wanted to wait on me hand and foot, and cook dinner and do all these things that I was perfectly capable of doing myself. The only thing I noticed was the people staring. They were pitiful stares. They knew that Seth had nearly killed me. And I knew that they would think that I was in counselling and I would never be the same and all that crap. I was completely fine. As long as I had Edward with me, I would be okay. Oh, and all of Grandma's stuff finally got dropped off at the house. And I still had no idea what to do with it.

I was cooking dinner for Edward and myself, and he said something interesting to me.

"Hey Bella? I just remember that there's another school dance tomorrow. Do you want to go?" He knew full well that I can't dance.

"Ummm, maybe not…"

"Too bad, I'm taking you anyway," he smirked evily.

"You wouldn't," I threatened.

"Watch me." At that point he grabbed me from where I was standing, picked me up and spun me until I was dizzy. I screamed, but he just laughed.

"Hey! Put me down! I'm getting dizzy!" I screamed. He laughed some more. Eventually he did put me down.

The next night, I seriously was considering dressing up. Edward was picking me up at 7, dolled up or not, so I was going to this stupid dance anyway. May as well look pretty. I had this deep red dress that I really liked. It was strapless, short, and highlighted my short black hair perfectly. I chose black heels to go with it. They were pretty high. That should make me at least up to Edward's shoulder. I even put on make up! The door bell rang at 5 to 7. Typical Edward, always turning up early. I practically ran down the stairs. I opened the door to find him in the cutest tux. In his hand, a bouquet of roses. God, I love him.

"Bella, you look amazing!" Me? Oh right, the dress. How could he even consider that with him standing next to me in comparison?

"It's just something I dug out of my closet…" A little white lie there. It had been in my closet, but I had bought it for this kind of occasion. He gave me the roses, which I put in a jug of water on the table. I grabbed my purse and we headed out the door.

When we got at school, I felt instantly nervous. What would people think? What if they didn't want to talk to me? Edward noticed my change of mood as we drove into the parking lot.

"Are you okay?" He often asked me this.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… nervous, you know?" He nodded. He parked, got out, and opened my door for me. I took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car. There was a lot of people. Had the school's population doubled or something? It seemed to twice as many people as I remember. Although it had been 3 weeks. As we walked the gym, the amount of stares were incredible. More than ever. When we got into the gym there were even more.

I saw all my friends in the far corner. They stared too. But in a different way, almost. I waved. They waved back. Well, at least they waved. We walked over to them, Edward holding my hand the whole way. Angela was the first to give me a hug.

"Bella! How are you? We heard about… him. It must have been horrible." Ben nudged her.

"I wouldn't bring that up, if I were you," he whispered to her.

"No, it's okay. I'm cool with talking about, or whatever. Umm, yeah, worst pain I've ever felt." Angela shivered. Jimmy just laughed.

"Hey Bella. 'Sup? We missed you," Jimmy said. He gave me a bone crushing hug. Ouch. To show my appreciation I rubbed my arms. That made him laugh more. Everyone else was a bit more cautious with their hellos. It was mostly 'are you okay's, 'I'm so sorry's and 'lucky you, you got three weeks off school' (from Tyler, of course).

Then I saw Lara from across the room. She noticed me too. She didn't give me a deathly glare like I expected her to. She gave me a smile. I didn't understand, so I reluctantly dropped Edward's hand and walked over to her. Her gang still gave me death stares though.

"Hi Bella," she said. I was still confused. What's with the friendliness? "Look, I'm sorry. It's kind of my fault you… yeah. I brought that dickhead here. I was the one who kind of, could have, single-handedly killed you. I'm sorry." Uh, wow. That was totally unexpected. "And I'm sorry for all the stuff I did to you as well. And for trying to break you and Edward up. I can see that you're made for each other now."

"Thanks, Lara. I hope we can get along from now on."

"Well, we can try," She laughed, as did I. "I can see that you're friends think I'm attacking you again. I'll let you go." She smiled again.

"Thank you, Lara. I really mean it." And with that I walked back to my family.

"What was that all about?" Drew asked me.

"Lara said sorry." I said this with no shame, and maybe a little pride.

"Wow," he replied. I smiled.

"Let's go to that bench," Edward whispered in my ear.

We went to the bench that we had sat down by so many times (and done other things…). We could still hear the music from outside. He sat down and I sat on his lap. I was very warm there. We just sat and felt the warm breeze brush against us. I was listening to the music inside, and guess what song came on? Edward heard it too. It was our song, _You Found Me_. We got up, and he took my waist. Ugh, dancing. He smiled at my reaction.

"I'll teach you. It's very easy. Don't over think it. Just stand on my feet," he told me.

"But I'll crush your toes!" I protested.

"No, you won't. I don't think you realise how little you weigh."

"Fine," I grumbled. So I stood on his feet, and we just swayed. And it was perfect. Just what I wanted. After 2 weeks of pain and horror, something was finally right. When it got to the end of the song, he kissed me.

"You have no idea how happy I am that I came to this school," Edward said. I giggled.

"So am I." And I stayed in his arms for who knows how long.

And that stupid monkey who stole my shadow and sold it on eBay? Well, let's just say, there were a few bids.

THE END 


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